Buckle Up For Life

Properly installed car seats can dramatically reduce childhood death and injury from motor vehicle crashes — yet 75 percent are installed incorrectly. We created a PSA spot for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s and Toyota’s national “Buckle Up for Life” program as a way to raise awareness about the importance of child passenger safety. The spot takes a humorous and empathetic look at how frustrating installing a car seat can be. The video directs viewers to BuckleUpforLife.org, which can help them choose the correct car seat for their child, features animated videos on how to install different car seats and shows where in their area they can find car seat assistance.

NTI Index

The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a mission to strengthen global security by reducing the risk of use and preventing the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. The 2014 NTI Nuclear Materials Security Index was created to assess the security of nuclear materials around the world and to encourage governments to take actions and provide assurances about the security of the world’s deadliest materials.

We created NTIIndex.org as a dynamic entry point into the organization’s mission and data. The featured component of the website is an interactive tool that allows users to explore the NTI Index through either a global map or a comprehensive table. The tool includes comprehensive country profiles detailing the reasons behind every score.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids - Kick Butts Day

Kick Butts Day is an annual national day of activism to empower America’s youth to speak out against the health dangers of tobacco. We have worked closely with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids for more than a decade to successfully deliver the Kick Butts Day message to target audiences across the country.

For the 2014 effort, we collaborated to expand the reach of Kick Butts Day by incorporating the Make Tobacco History theme developed as part of the 50th Anniversary of the Surgeon General’s report. The fully-integrated campaign strategy included broadcast and digital media outreach; social and digital influencer engagement; and creative development of supporting campaign graphics.

We also created the #StandWithCVS social media campaign. The effort encouraged people to take a photo of themselves with a simple — yet powerful — graphic while standing in front of their local CVS store, showing they supported the store’s decision to stop selling tobacco products.

This comprehensive approach spurred a significant increase in audience reach across all efforts — the social media reach on Twitter and Facebook alone was nearly ten times higher than it was in 2013. It also helped Tobacco-Free Kids to forge key partnerships with CVS and other high profile influencers. The heightened amount of Kick Butts Day content amplified the grassroots efforts of youth advocates and reinforced the goal of making tobacco history.

Aristotle

Aristotle is recognized as the leading pioneer in political technology, working with many of the largest grassroots organizations, PACs and political campaigns in the United States and around the world. We designed and developed the “Aristotle Demo” website as a marketing tool for Aristotle’s campaign management software products.

The Story of Cancer

Producers' Blog

What goes into making a three-part, six-hour documentary film? We worked with the creative minds behind The Story of Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies to create the Producers’ Blog, which will follow acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and his partners as they create their “biography” of cancer. It will provide an all-access pass to the filming, editing and production of this groundbreaking television event from Burns and WETA.

Make Tobacco History

Since the release of the first Surgeon General’s Report on smoking and health in 1964, smoking rates in the United States have dropped by more than half. Eight million lives have been saved by tobacco control efforts — yet up to 20 million more have been lost. We worked with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create an interactive and visually compelling timeline of milestones in tobacco control — and to explore ways people can work together to make tobacco history.

Allstate — ‘Holiday Health Hazards’ Infographic

An average of 67,500 homeowner insurance claims take place during the holiday season, according to a claims report from Allstate. From home fires to thefts, this infographic both breaks down the reasons for the climb and provides tips to help keep your holiday free of home hazards.

Discovery Education

Our interactive team designed the “Recipe for Innovation” website as the online component of Chobani and Discovery Education’s campaign to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship in schoolchildren across the country. By telling the Chobani story and exploring the science and technology behind yogurt production, the website gives schoolchildren a concrete, real world example of how ideas can be made real. It targets K-12 students, educators and families.

American Psychiatric Association — 'Invisible Wounds' Infographic

Sometimes it’s the wounds we can’t see that cause the most trauma. This infographic for the American Psychiatric Association works to help remove the stigma surrounding seeking mental health services by illustrating the extent to which “silent injuries” affect our men and women in uniform.

The Hirshhorn Museum

Mobile Site

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s mobile website provides quick and easy access to everything a visitor might want to know — from exhibition dates and collection details to a comprehensive calendar and general museum information. We developed the streamlined and striking look and feel of the online resource.

CatholicCharitiesUSA.org

Catholic Charities, USA is a leader in the national movement to end poverty, helping individuals, families and even entire communities to reach their potential. The organization’s website allows for easy donations, provides important information on disaster relief and connects people with their local agencies.

Intermodal Association of North America

The Intermodal Association of North America is the leading association representing the intermodal freight industry (shipping containers). IANA needed a campaign that would demonstrate to the industry the new and exciting changes they are creating at their annual conference. The comprehensive “More than you imagine” campaign is designed to alter perceptions and generate buzz at this year’s annual trade show. It incorporates print, video and promotional materials, which were unveiled at IANA’s most recent trade show.

Operation Life Saver

"See Tracks? Think Train!" Campaign

Every three hours someone is hit by a train in the United States. On foot or in a vehicle, the result is the same — severe injury or even death. We created the “See Tracks? Think Train” campaign to help Operation Lifesaver teach people how to be safe around railroad tracks, grade crossings and transit platforms. Our work included a website, a video PSA and supporting campaign materials.

Operation Life Saver

"See Tracks? Think Train!" Campaign

Every three hours someone is hit by a train in the United States. On foot or in a vehicle, the result is the same — severe injury or even death. We created the “See Tracks? Think Train” campaign to help Operation Lifesaver teach people how to be safe around railroad tracks, grade crossings and transit platforms. Our work included a website, a video PSA and supporting campaign materials, with the video and print PSAs available in both English and Spanish.

The campaign clearly explains exactly what happens when a person takes on a coming train: Derrota segura, or “Certain defeat.”

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

"Unwavering"

When Hurricane Sandy made landfall in 2012, it brought with it some of the greatest public health and emergency preparedness challenges in recent history, leaving dozens dead and millions without power. It was a true test of the capabilities of the public health system. For the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we created a video showing how public health departments worked to ensure communities were safe and healthy before, during and after the superstorm.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids — ‘Join the Fight’ Infographics

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has helped lead the way in cutting youth smoking rates, expanding smoke-free areas and cracking down on advertisements that target kids. As part of our ongoing work with the advocacy organization we created two shareable infographics. “Winning the Fight” shows how far we’ve come in the past few decades, and how far we still have to go. “Usual Suspects” runs down the current and emerging tobacco products targeting kids.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — ‘Outbreak Week’ Infographic

“Outbreak Week” on NewPublicHealth, the public health website of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was an opportunity to catalyze discussion and sharing among the public health community and beyond about whether we’re prepared as a nation to handle the next big outbreak.

As part of the week-long look at infectious diseases, we created an infographic detailing the potentially looming threats to public health — from antibiotic-resistant superbugs to the seasonal flu. The data comes from Outbreaks: Protecting Americans from Infectious Diseases, a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America’s Health.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) asked us to develop and launch a comprehensive consumer education campaign raising the importance of early detection of speech, language and hearing issues. The campaign encouraged people to “Identify the Signs,” and seek help from a certified speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Television, radio, print and digital advertising was created in English and Spanish and supported by a broadcast media tour and social media outreach. The campaign has reached nearly 500 million people within the first year.

Census Data Clarity

The US Census has embarked on a new information-sharing approach, making America’s data more accessible to the public and easier to use. Our teams of digital experts were instrumental in this transformation, helping the Bureau create tools like the Population Clock that put vital Census data into the hands of those who need it most: American innovators. To announce the initiative and generate excitement internally, Home Front launched the Data Clarity campaign with a fully immersive experience at Census headquarters. Deploying everything from TVs to window clings to sculptures, the messaging highlighted the importance of the transformation and instilled a sense of pride throughout the Bureau.

Services:

Communication strategy and research

Creative concept and design

Video production

Interactive design and development

Production and post-production

AARP

Our team has provided bilingual broadcast support services for several of AARP’s national campaigns and resource centers, including the Hispanic Caregivers Resource campaign, the Housing Solutions Resource Center and the Life Re-Imagined campaign. Each project involved a unique media strategy with targeted message development and broadcast outreach services. A team of Home Front bilingual producers worked in tandem with AARP’s celebrity spokespeople and subject-matter experts to conduct live satellite and radio interviews with national Hispanic news networks and local-market affiliate stations.

Buckle Up For Life / Abróchate a La Vida

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 – 13 and only 1 in 4 child car seats in the United States are properly installed. The numbers are even more troubling for Hispanic and African-American children, who are 10 times less likely to be properly restrained in a vehicle. Many of these injuries and deaths could be avoided with the use of proper restraints like child car seats, booster seats and seatbelts. AbrochateALaVida.org is the Spanish-language online home of Cincinnati Children’s and Toyota’s community-based safety program to educate Spanish-speaking families on critical safety behaviors and provide child car seats to families in need. Follow Abróchate a La Vidaon Twitter and on Facebook in English and in Spanish.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK)

For the last several years we’ve worked with CTFK on a series of national projects and events to create awareness of the very real — and very dangerous — effects of tobacco on America’s youth. The bilingual campaigns include the yearly Kick Butts Day, a CTFK report on new tobacco products, the annual report on states’ funding of tobacco prevention programs and the impact of tobacco marketing on women’s health. Our bilingual media team and producers work regularly with CTFK’s experts to conduct live satellite, in-studio and radio interviews with major national and local broadcast outlets.

Child Trends

The non-profit, non-partisan Child Trends works to improve the lives and prospects of children and youth by conducting high-quality research to share with policymakers, funders, educators and service providers in the United States and around the world. Its work is supported by foundations; federal, state and local government agencies; and nonprofit organizations. To help advance this critical mission, we created a new ChildTrends.org that utilizes a cleaner look and organizational structure to make its vast collection of data easier to search and utilize. The integration of digital media also promotes more active engagement with the organization.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

"Slow Burn" Brand Video

Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death in our times. The Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids has helped lead the way in cutting youth smoking rates, expanding smoke-free areas and cracking down on advertisements that target kids. This video details the great strides that have been made…and what still needs to be accomplished in order to create a world where every child can grow up tobacco free.

DC Metropolitan Police Department

DC Street Safe

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of Washington, D.C. has launched a new traffic safety program — DC Street Safe — which utilizes cutting-edge traffic technologies to combat aggressive and dangerous driving habits. This is especially important in the District, where in 2011 pedestrians and bicyclists made up 40 percent of traffic fatalities, which is more than double the national average.

Home Front creative team developed the branding for MPD’s new traffic safety program. We also developed a video series that explains the new technologies in a way that is both approachable and engaging.

Population Services International (PSI)

This Spanish-language animated video explains how the lives of millions of people around the world — like the global everywoman “Sara” — are made better because of the work of Population Services International.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Rx Report

More people die from prescription drug-related deaths than from heroin and cocaine combined. While an array of strategies have been developed to combat drug abuse, a report by Trust for America’s Health found that few states are implementing more than a handful of the tactics. We developed a video for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that clearly and effectively explained the scope of this national epidemic.

SAFE

Oil Security Index

The Oil Security Index is a first-of-its-kind tool for measuring important components of a country’s oil security, including their structural oil dependence, economic exposure to the global oil market and ability to respond to oil supply disruptions.

The Index is designed to enable policymakers, business leaders and the general public to easily compare the relative oil security of more than a dozen countries around the world. By clearly illustrating and measuring the core drivers of countries’ oil security, it provides a valuable resource for decision making in terms of public policy, investments and more.

Hearing problems can happen gradually with age, making them easy to ignore. Yet their impact can be devastating, including depression and social isolation. With an AARP/American Speech Language Hearing Association poll finding that nearly 70 percent of people would seek treatment for a hearing problem if they were asked to do so by a loved one, the national Speak Up About Hearing Loss PSA campaign urges families to break through the silence and openly discuss untreated hearing loss among older family members.

Strong Start

“Early intervention” brings together public and private agencies in a coordinated effort to help infants and toddlers with disabilities or developmental delays, or whose families are concerned about their development. Through this system, agencies, parents and service providers work together to help children meet their developmental needs. The bilingual Strong Start television spots raise awareness of local Early Intervention Programs that are available to parents and caregivers.

The Ad Council — AdoptUSKids Campaign

There are more than 33,000 teenagers waiting to be adopted in the U.S. foster care system, with nearly half of them between the ages of 14 and 16. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, AdoptUSKids, and the Ad Council launched a bilingual PSA campaign “You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Be a Perfect Parent” to encourage the adoption of children from the U.S. foster care system. Home Front’s work with the campaign included a national bilingual satellite and radio media tour and English and Spanish infographics.

The Ad Council — Fatherhood Infographic

Fatherlessness is a growing crisis in America. When a dad isn’t around for his child, that child is more likely to drop out of school, use drugs, be arrested and become a young parent. We created a series of Spanish-language inforgraphics in support of a national campaign to inspire a new commitment to responsible fatherhood within the U.S. Hispanic community.

Airlines for America - Infographics

With members and affiliates that transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic, Airlines for America (A4A) is a powerful advocate for an industry that is critical to national and global competitiveness. A4A’s efforts emphasize America’s airlines as models of safety, customer service and environmental responsibility.

A4A came to Home Front for the conceptualization and creation of two infographics to be distributed and shared through mainstream and social media.

The first illustrates how far airlines have come since the “good old days” of early commercial flight, comparing the cost and efficiency of cross-country roundtrip flights in 1941 and 2012. The second details how — contrary to ongoing misconceptions about the cost of modern air travel — prices remain a bargain when compared to the costs of most other goods and services.

Association of American Railroads

Designed to Move a Nation

Freight rail is a vital—yet often invisible—network that helps the U.S. economy stay strong and competitive. The Association for American Railroads needed a comprehensive campaign to help ensure this critical industry remains top-of-mind for Washington, D.C.-area policymakers and influencers.

The Results:

The 360-degree Designed to Move a Nation campaign includes brand new creative for television, radio, print, digital and out-of-home. It’s also supported by an updated campaign website.

Services:

Communication strategy and research

Media planning supervision

Creative concepting and design

Interactive design and development

Production and post-production

NewPublicHealth - Outbreak Week

“Outbreak Week” on NewPublicHealth, the public health website of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was an opportunity to catalyze discussion and sharing among the public health community and beyond about whether we’re prepared as a nation to handle the next big outbreak — using engaging stories, infographics, custom images and a viral video.

Content was developed with shareability in mind and aimed to attract the younger generation of the public health workforce, while also continuing to serve our core audience. Content included “listicles” (such as “Top 5 Things You Didn’t Know Can Spread Disease”) designed to truly draw people into the week’s theme, in addition to more traditional expert Q&As and a collection of visual content, including images designed for use on social media. There was precedence for this kind of content in engaging online audiences, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s successful zombie preparedness campaign.

Campaign Highlights:

83 percent surge in page views at NewPublicHealth over the prior week

3,400 new followers of @RWJF_PubHealth

47.6 million Twitter impressions

In just the last two weeks of the year, two Outbreak Week posts made it into the top 10 NewPublicHealth posts of all of 2013

Services:

Branding

Video production

Digital content creation

Reporting and writing

Social media tactics

Posters

TKF Foundation

NatureSacred.org

The TKF Foundation provides the opportunity for deeper human experiences by inspiring and supporting the creation of public greenspaces that offer temporary sanctuary, encourage reflection, provide solace and engender peace and wellbeing. NatureSacred.org—the new online home of the TKF Foundation and its National Open Spaces Sacred Places Awards—details the importance and impact of these greenspaces. Its Open Spaces blog works to spread information and stories about the healing power of nature and green development in urban locations. Visit the website.

BuckleUpForLife.org

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13 and only 1 in 4 child car seats in the United States are properly installed. The numbers are even more troubling for Hispanic and African-American children, who are 10 times less likely to be properly restrained in a vehicle. Many of these injuries and deaths could be avoided with the use of proper restraints like child car seats, booster seats and seatbelts.

BuckleUpForLife.org is the online home of Cincinnati Children’s and Toyota’s community-based safety program to educate families on critical safety behaviors and provide child car seats to families in need. The website utilizes striking statistics and engaging imagery to explain the importance of child passenger safety and exactly how to make sure kids are safe. One of its key features is the “Making Safety a Snap” tool, which uses simple questions to guide parents to an informative animated video that walks them through the process of installing a car seat for their particular child.

Institute for Reproductive Health

The Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) at Georgetown University has spent a quarter of a century advancing sexual and reproductive health around the globe — working to expand family planning choices worldwide, advance gender equality and involve communities in reproductive health interventions which can advance the well being of everyone. IRH.org is a comprehensive online platform to provide resources, advance the organization’s mission and connect with new advocates.

Orbitz

2013 Summer Travel Infographic

With more than three-quarters of Americans planning to take a summer vacation in 2013, Orbitz.com enlisted our help in visualizing how people plan to travel. The 2013 Summer Travel infographic highlights Orbitz.com booking data and uses data from their annual survey exploring everything from the types of trips people plan to take to how a traveler knows their room is clean.

Population Reference Bureau

World at 7 Billion

The Population Reference Bureau (PRB) informs people around the world about population, health and the environment — empowering them to use that information to advance the well-being of the current and future generations. This informative video offers a simple and compelling overview of the trends that took our global population to 7 billion.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, or Auto Alliance, is a collection of twelve of the industry’s top companies. One of its main goals is to continually improve the safety of drivers and everyone who shares the roads. As part of this mission, Auto Alliance was promoting “Driver Assists,” a new class of cutting-edge car technology that not only makes driving safer and easier — it also makes it more enjoyable.

Auto Alliance came to Home Front for a multi-faceted campaign to grow the “Driver Assists” brand while generating buzz and excitement around all the specific technology offerings.

The results:

Our Creative Team conceived, designed and produced a comprehensive package of “Driver Assists” show materials for the Washington Auto Show. The mix of traditional and non-traditional signage informed the key show audiences — attendees, D.C. elites, influencers and media — while provoking them to really think about how the technology can help make driving both easier and safer.

U.S. Census

Population Clock

The newly released Population Clock is one of the most widely visited features on the Census.gov website, providing a quick and interactive estimated overview of the population in the United States and the world.

BlackRock

Investing for a New World

The current economic reality means people need to rethink the traditional approach to investments. Our video complemented and accompanied BlackRock’s economic microsite, utilizing the financial organization’s experts to detail how it’s helping clients navigate this new world of investments.

College Summit

College Summit is the nation’s largest nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of low-income youth by connecting them to college and career. The national organization combines peer leadership, custom curricula, real-time student performance data and technology in its mission. CollegeSummit.org is the organization’s online face and resource hub as it works to change the lives of 50,000 students from grades 9 to 12.

FreightRailWorks.org

FreightRailWorks.org combines engaging and informative content — video, infographics, interactive tools and multimedia — with a creative advertising campaign designed to channel target viewers to the website content. The effort is centered around a Webby-nominated website, FreightRailWorks.org, which is a digital destination for those looking to learn more about freight rail’s impact on the American economy. We turned a wealth of powerful but unwieldy facts and statistics into engaging content and advertising that illuminates the audience on multiple platforms — educating, informing and influencing opinion around a vital American industry. Visit the website.

Services:

Advertising

Multimedia campaign development

Website creation

Content

Video

Learn more about broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Auto Alliance

Lobby Video Loop

This video loop was created for the lobby of Auto Alliance’s new headquarters in Washington, DC’s Chinatown neighborhood. The piece includes each of their members and features clips from the manufacturers paired with a graphics package, digital transitions, and audio.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

National Institutes of Health

The Science of Being Human

Translating complicated scientific research into digestible content can be challenging, but these profiles of prominent researchers at the National Institutes of Health succeed in demonstrating both the value of their work and the insight of some of the country’s most remarkable scientists.

TIAA-CREF

Sometimes video is the best device to tell complicated stories succinctly — and this example explains how TIAA-CREF works with its clients in higher education to grow their retirement plans in an uncertain marketplace.

National Coalition for Safer Roads

Home Front managed the development, launch and rollout of a national industry trade association to advocate the benefits of automated traffic safety technology. The resulting National Coalition for Safer Roads demonstrates how red light and speed safety cameras improve driver behavior and make communities safer places to live.

Our ongoing integrated efforts include branding the new trade association, establishing its legal status, designing its website and promoting its efforts through targeted media outreach and advertising.

The results:

This multifaceted digital, public relations, advertising and content strategy is helping the industry tell a powerful story. It is building support and spurring a thoughtful conversation across multiple platforms.

Services:

Advertising

Campaign development

Website development

Content creation

Social media tactics

Targeted outreach

One.org

Street Tweeter

The ONE Campaign came to us for a low-budget, high-impact video to showcase a major policy initiative around the G8 Summit. The quick turnaround video helped them take their voices to the street. Literally.

The Shelter Pet Project

There are plenty of misconceptions surrounding shelter pets, but the reality is they are healthy pets in need of loving homes. The Shelter Pet Project campaign, run by The Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund and The Ad Council, encourages the adoption of shelter pets. We brought together user research and our development expertise to create a website that dispels myths and utilizes a Petfinder-powered search tool to help people locate available shelter pets in their area. Visit the website.

Services:

Website development

Interactive tools

Cook Political Report

The Cook Political Report is the gold standard of independent, non-partisan election analysis. The new Cookpolitical.com enables users to use that data like never before. Now the nation;s political handicappers can follow the latest thinking of the CookPolitical team; access data visualization tools, charts and maps; create customized dashboards for tracking races and to share and utilize all of this information to support their day-to-day work that depends on up to the date understanding of the nation’s political dynamics. Visit the website.

Services:

Website design

Database development and management

Interactive Maps

PBS

ValuePBS.org

ValuePBS.org demonstrates the incomparable value the Public Broadcasting System provides Americans — a critical informational tool when PBS funding came under fire during the 2012 presidential debates. On one site, and encompassing three pages, you can learn about PBS contributions to education, culture and community. The website is packed with statistical proof leading to one conclusion — PBS is trusted, valued and essential. Visit the website.

Services:

Interactive strategy

Website development

Infographics

Auto Alliance

Jobs From Autos

The auto industry is everywhere — literally. Its remarkable economic footprint stretches across America, supporting millions of jobs in every state. It also invests in new technologies to make its products safer and more reliable for American families. This dynamic website features profiles some of the millions of people in unexpected roles nationwide who help build the cars and light trucks that drive America forward, while also clearly and cleanly breaking down the role the industry plays in each state. Visit the website.

Services:

Website development

Interactive maps and content

Video production

End Fund

The END Fund is working to reduce the prevalence of Neglected Tropical Diseases among some of the world’s poorest people. The website presents the often deadly effects of NTDs, walks users through the campaign’s work and shows people how they can get involved. Visit the website.

HPC for Energy

HPC for Energy promotes the use of high-performance computing to advance technology and give American companies an edge in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. The website provides resources and information on how companies can utilize the important technology. Visit the website.

NTI

Cuban Missile Crisis at 50

The website is an enhanced infographic that guides users through the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis, explaining the importance of working to ensure the country is never again in that position and showing them what they can do to help the important effort. Visit the website.

Venture Philanthropy Partners

Capital Kids Report

When VPP published the Capital Kids Report in 2012 it provided a first of its kind baseline assessment of health and well being of children in the National Capital Region. The engaging website provides a simple online portal to the report’s findings and offers a convenient way to share information and encourage conversation. Visit the website.

Services:

Editorial management

Design

Website development

Print production

Press coordination

Learn more about our broadcast services

For more than a decade, Home Front has been a leading provider of broadcast media relations strategy and services, from satellite and radio media tours to bites and b-roll distribution to national morning show and cable outreach. Our bilingual, in-house team of communications professionals has deep experience and relationships with local, regional and national English and Spanish media outlets. Our expertise also includes production at complex remote locations and management of large-scale media events, from coordinating logistics to driving media to the event.

Broadcast, print, specialty media and emerging media all deliver specific value. We believe the best media outreach strategies consider all possible avenues of communication, and we frequently work with clients to pursue multi-platform approaches that maximize breadth and depth of coverage.

Population Services International

Population Services International helps improve the health of people in the developing world. This website is an important tool for their campaign, demonstrating the need for their efforts and showing people how they can join the worthy cause. Visit the website.

Bipartisan Policy Center

The website shares the latest on what the Washington, D.C. think tank is doing to promote reasoned and respectful solutions to some of our country’s most complex issues. Visit the website.

Bipartisan Policy Center

Nuclear Iran Infographic

This infographic explains how a nuclear Iran would affect the price of oil around the globe — driving up U.S. gas prices, causing hundreds of thousands of Americans to lose their jobs and taking billions of dollars for the U.S. economy

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning

CASEL’s website presents the facts and findings that show the importance of establishing social and emotional learning as essential parts of education. Visit the website.

Elmendorf Ryan

The clean, simple design of this website reflects the professional approach of Elmendorf Ryan, one of Washington, D.C.’s leading lobbyist firms. Visit the website.

Forum on Energy

This blog presents the latest information — both original and cultivated — on the state of nuclear energy development around the world. The website was created to help dispel the myths and misstatements of fact surrounding the accident at Fukushima Daiichi in Japan. Visit the blog.

National Coalition for Safer Roads

These powerful testimonials explore the human price paid when a driver runs a red light – and takes another life. The ads feature victims and first responders from Missouri, who emotionally share their personal experiences with red light running, and are helping change the bnature of the conversation about automated traffic enforcement. The National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) helps build awareness of the dangers of red light running and supports the emerging traffic safety technology industry.

Services:

Television

Radio

Online

Go Rail

This website for the Association of American Railroads brings together rail stakeholders, community leaders and the public in support of rail solutions for tomorrow’s transportation challenges. Visit the website.

Home State Health (mobile)

When Centene was awarded a Medicaid contract with the state of Missouri, within fewer than six months they needed to earn the trust of hundreds of thousands of potential customers. The website guides users through the sometimes complex process of acquiring coverage, while the responsive design enables people to utilize the site on computers, smartphones and tablets. Visit the website.

HPC

History of Supercomputing Infographic

The HPC for Energy infographic tells a clear, compelling story about the history of supercomputing and the top supercomputers in the world today. HPC for Energy promotes the use of high-performance computing to advance technology and give American companies an edge in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

National Press Club

Through a combination of copy and multimedia, the website shares news about the latest speeches, presentations and other events at the National Press Club. Visit the website.

TKF Foundation

Open Spaces Infographic

The infographic for the TKF Foundation and its Open Spaces, Sacred Places grant program showcases how greenspace matters to humans — especially those living in urban areas. Trees, parks and other green areas have been proven to reduce crime, increase market value and help residents’ mental health. The infographic is being distributed on the Open Voices blog, a center for news and conversation about urban green space, nature, placemaking and more.

The Pew Budget Challenge

You wouldn’t think something as simple as a balanced budget would be so hard to achieve. If you ever wondered what it would take to do the job, Pew budget Challenge is your chance to match your skill and priorities against the system. A complex app that allows users to develop their own budget plan – in balance or not – by choosing from more than 100 spending and tax policies to reduce the debt.

Population Reference Bureau

World Data Sheet Map

The Population Reference Bureau’s World Data Sheet Map was designed and built to allow the user to browse through 17 indicators organized in six tabs, ranging from life expectancy, HIV/AIDS, family planning, poverty, and more.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Better Transportation Infographic

Working closely with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s public health communications team, we helped design a digital engagement strategy to advance the discussion of public health. NewPublicHealth.org is a forum for sharing news and information about public health and also a device to build an audience for issues that are not always easy to communicate. This infographic demonstrates how giving people more transportation options — walkable, bikeable and transit-oriented communities — helps lead to healthier individuals and improve overall public health. The infographic was distributed through traditional and social media outreach, as well as via outreach to relevant organizations such as the National Association of County and City Health Officials. The series has also been picked up by mainstream and targeted media, including the Harvard Business Review and Fast Company’s Co.Exist site. The transportation infographic received more than 12,000 page views. The infographics are also being used by local organizations and health departments at hearings and other local presentations to make the case for changes to create healthier communities.

U.S. Census Bureau

Education Infographic

Using Census data on school enrollment, costs and educational outcomes, this infographic shows how America in 2010 changed from America in 1940. National education statistics help communities allocate vital funds and guide program planning.

U.S. Census Bureau

Then & Now Infographic

The United States has grown dramatically between 1940 and 2010. Using U.S. Census data, this infographic charts the changes in our population, demographics, industries and other areas that help define modern America.

Venture Philanthropy Partners

Poverty Infographic

The Capital Kids Report is a first-of-its-kind analysis of the state of youth in the National Capital Region released by Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP). This infographic was developed to paint a picture of the impact of poverty on children in the Washington, D.C. region, where one in three children are poor — exceeding the poverty level of some developing countries. VPP is a philanthropic investment organization that helps build strong nonprofit institutions.

NewPublicHealth

Working closely with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s public health communications team, we helped design a digital engagement strategy to advance the discussion of public health. NewPublicHealth.org is a forum for sharing news and information about public health and also a device to build an audience for issues that are not always easy to communicate.

NewPublicHealth.org publishes original daily editorial content to entice and engage an active audience interested in public health. This approach, together with simultaneous audience outreach and engagement through social media, has initiated a steadily growing digital conversation about public health challenges, opportunities, evidence, solutions and innovations.

The results:

This ongoing effort continues to inform a national network of dedicated public health professionals whose decisions help improve public health policies and programs at the local, state and federal levels. NewPublicHealth.org has seen more than 500,000 unique visitors and one million page views. In addition, the daily Twitter feed includes more than 200,000 followers, while content from NewPublicHealth has been cited by major national media organizations such as The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review.

Editorial strategy and team

Editorial content development

Digital media strategy and outreach

Services:

Website development

Content creation

Social media tactics

Audience engagement

Bipartisan Policy Center

Housing Infographic

The infographic for one of Washington’s leading bipartisan policy think tanks explains the role of the housing industry in helping the country recover from economic recessions — an especially significant issue in recent years — as well as how housing contributes to the nation’s GDP. This graphic accomplishes the main objective of an infographic — taking a complicated subject and making it easier to digest.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Healthier Living Infographic

The infographic shows the connection between education and healthier living — longer lives, lower chance of disease and higher incomes that make picking the healthy choices easier. It is one in a series of infographics for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation exploring the roles of prevention and policy in advancing public health.

FDA Center for Tobacco Products

Teens & Tobacco Infographic

The FDA Center for Tobacco Products infographics illustrate the dangers of tobacco use. Through digital media promotion and distribution — Facebook, Twitter, blogs and news sites — they help spur conversations among parents and their children about the importance of living tobacco-free.

U.S. Census Bureau

Economic Indicators Dashboard

There’s much more to the work of the U.S. Census Bureau than a decennial population count. While the official every ten-year census is the most well known mission of the Bureau, it is also the keeper of a host of other statistical data that is collected much more frequently, including some of the nation’s most important economic indicators. The Economic Indicators Dashboard is a new online application designed to showcase all the economic indicators on the Census.gov homepage – where they are easy to see and easy to share.

U.S. Census Bureau

Apportionment Maps

Apportionment – the division of Congressional seats among the 50 states – is one of the primary purposes for the decennial census. These Census Bureau maps were created to help visualize the effect of apportionment in 2010 and before. Users may view ten decades of apportionment history, current apportionment totals and our country’s changing population expansion through the past century. They can even key in on specific historical information for each state, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Cook Political Report

Interactive Maps

The Cook Political Report’s new interactive map is a sophisticated visualizations tool compatible with desktops, tablets and mobile phones. With this powerful tool users can examine election results and partisan leanings at the national, state and congressional district level.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Tobacco Map

As state policies toward the taxation and regulation of tobacco products, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s innovative interactive Tobacco map gives policymakers and advocates an up-to-date and thorough look at the latest in tobacco control policies. From smoke-free laws to cigarette tax rates to tobacco spending, all the details are easy to find in one simple interactive experience. The tool is easily shareable through social media and embeddable on websites and blogs.

Auto Alliance

Jobs from Autos

This comprehensive advertising campaign targeted the Washington area with a mix of online and pre-roll ads; print ads; and out-of-home placements on bus sides and within the D.C. Convention Center for the DC Auto Show. The multifaceted campaign reminds us that auto jobs come in many different sizes and shapes, and encourages us to look more carefully at the website.

Services:

Online

Video pre-roll

Print

Website development

Content Creation

Out of home

U.S. State Department

Design Excellence Program

This video for the State Department introduces the Department’s Design Excellence program and explores the role of architecture in diplomacy.

MacArthur Foundation

Fellows Award

For two years, we’ve been proud to create poignant profiles for the MacArthur Foundation that allow the public to meet some of the leading minds in the country. Watch and learn about the story behind the MacArthur Fellowship and meet some of the past award winners.

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

50th Anniversary

The“Johns Hopkins 50th Anniversary” video was a key feature of an awards dinner celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Carnegie Foundation

Carnegie 100th

“Carnegie at 100” celebrates the centennial of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Freight Rail Works

Rail 101

The “Rail 101” video for the Association of American Railroads combines engaging visuals, narration and graphical elements to illustrate the economic importance of freight rail.

U.S. State Department

Art in Embassies Program

The U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies program helps share the rich cultural history of America, while also helping to make our embassies more a part of the communities in which they reside. This video combines narration and engaging visuals to illustrate its important mission.

National Coalition of Safer Roads

Missouri Victims Commercial

NCSR helps change dangerous driver behavior by building a national movement to generate awareness and spur a thoughtful conversation across multiple platforms. This television ad features real people in support of red light safety cameras explaining how preventable collisions forever changed their lives.

Strong Start

This PSA for the Washington, D.C. public school system’s early childhood education program helps raise awareness about the potential indicators of learning disabilities. We utilized our expertise in multilingual production to create versions in both English and Spanish, maximizing the video’s reach into local communities.

U.S. Census Bureau

Amazing Apportionment Machine

“The Amazing Apportionment Machine” video uses graphic animation to make the complex apportionment process for U.S. Congressional districts easier to understand. The video utilizes creative story telling to make a dry subject entertaining, interesting and easily comprehendible.

FRW Safety Video

This series of stories for the Association of American Railroads tells about the Transportation Technology Center Inc., the research and development hub for the U.S. railroad industry located in the high desert outside Pueblo, Colo.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Living Proof Project

An ambitious series of more than twenty personal testimonials from around the world showcases the success of U.S. international investments in health. This montage brought together images from a number of the “Living Proof” stories. The work culminated in a major presentation in Washington, D.C. by Bill and Melinda Gates at the Harmon Center for hundreds of policymakers and Washington opinion leaders.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Roadmaps to Health Prize

This video uses animation to promote the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s new $25,000 community health prize and previewed the kind of transformation the award seeks to encourage.

Recording Industry Association of America

A high energy motion graphic, this video presents a musical mission statement on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

County Health Rankings

Documentary – San Bernardino / County Health Rankings

A documentary style video that highlights the impact of the annual County Health Rankings report for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The video showcases the experience of community leaders in San Bernardino County, Calif. who were motivated by their ranking to lower barriers to better health outcomes in their community. (K0078)

Population Services International

This animated video explains how the lives of millions of people around the world — like the global everywoman “Sara” — are made better because of the work of Population Services International.

Association of American Railroads

FreightRailWorks.org represents a total digital strategy: content, outreach and advertising that that informs, educates and engages an audience concerned with transportation policy. It combines engaging and informative content — video, infographics, interactive tools and multimedia — with a creative online advertising campaign designed to channel target viewers to the website content.

The effort for this campaign is centered around a Webby-nominated website, FreightRailWorks.org, which is a digital destination for those looking to learn more about rail transportation.

The results:

We turned a wealth of powerful but unwieldy facts and statistics into engaging content and advertising that illuminates the audience on multiple platforms. Educating, informing, influencing opinion and ultimately developing a groundswell of advocates.

Marlo Thomas

Three years ago when actress, activist, and philanthropist Marlo Thomas wanted to create a community online to help women over 40 dream again and get both practical and inspirational advice, she turned to Home Front as a key partner. We have been proud to help her every step of the way, from establishing a long term partnership with AOL and Huffington Post, to working with her daily to grow a robust and engaged social media following, being a part of her editorial team, and helping her launch initiatives in the offline world on important topics like Bullying. In 2012 alone, MarloThomas.com has had more than 50 million page views and 20 million video views. Her site continues to generate advertising support from some of the world’s most prestigious brands.

TEDMED

Using social media, Home Front partnered with TEDMED to turn a once-a-year conference into a year-round community focused on health and technology issues. Our efforts include strategic planning; daily social media engagement on multiple platforms; live social media events; Facebook advertising; multifaceted conference coverage and reporting; content creation; and daily video summaries.

The Ad Council

Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving

The goals of the Ad Council’s Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving campaign are to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce the human and financial toll from traffic-related accidents resulting from impaired driving (alcohol and other drugs). The message: people who drive buzzed are as dangerous as those who drive drunk, which surprisingly is not always understood. The Buzzed Driving digital media campaign combined a Twitter feed, a Facebook page, a redesigned campaign landing page, interactive content and targeted online outreach to draw in and engage followers — giving them a place to grow the conversation about buzzed driving and turning them into online campaign ambassadors.

National Coalition for Safer Roads

Home Front managed the development, launch and rollout of a national industry trade association to advocate the benefits of automated traffic safety technology. The resulting National Coalition for Safer Roads demonstrates how red light and speed safety cameras improve driver behavior and make communities safer places to live.

Our ongoing integrated efforts include branding the new trade association, establishing its legal status, designing its website and promoting its efforts through targeted media outreach and advertising.

The results:

This multifaceted digital, public relations, advertising and content strategy is helping the industry tell a powerful story. It is building support and spurring a thoughtful conversation across multiple platforms.

Services:

Advertising

Campaign development

Website development

Content creation

Social media tactics

Targeted outreach

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Working closely with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s public health communications team, we helped design a digital engagement strategy to advance the discussion of public health. NewPublicHealth.org is a forum for sharing news and information about public health and also a device to build an audience for issues that are not always easy to communicate.

NewPublicHealth.org publishes original daily editorial content to entice and engage an active audience interested in public health. This approach, together with simultaneous audience outreach and engagement through social media, has initiated a steadily growing digital conversation about public health challenges, opportunities, evidence, solutions and innovations.

The results:

This ongoing effort continues to inform a national network of dedicated public health professionals whose decisions help improve public health policies and programs at the local, state and federal levels.

The daily Twitter feed includes more than 65,000 followers, while content from NewPublicHealth has been cited by major national media organizations such as The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review.

Services:

Website development

Content creation

Social media tactics

Audience engagement

U.S. Census Bureau

Our twelve-year relationship with the U.S. Census Bureau has spanned two decennial counts and drawn on the expertise of all our service teams — digital, interactive, video and media. Even now we’re helping guide the government agency through its new digital transformation.

We were asked to assist the U.S. Census Bureau in translating and reporting the results of the 2010 Census into terms that would be meaningful for both expert and every-day information consumers.

The Results:

We initiated and drove an online discussion that generated awareness while connecting people on multiple digital and social media platforms. And, of course, we helped explain some of the more complicated aspects of the decennial count, making it more accessible and unlocking its value to society at large.

Services:

Digital

Media outreach

Interactive

Video

National Democratic Institute

As the National Democratic Institute celebrates it’s 30th Anniversary, this video provides an overview of NDI’s work, while highlighting three major themes; the Arab Spring, the Digital Revolution and the Rise of Women in Politics.

Services

Home Front is a full-service, fully integrated strategic communications agency.

We combine advertising; branding and design; digital strategy and development; media strategy and outreach; and a full-service production facility all under one roof. Our unique arsenal gives you a strategic advantage with more ways to inspire, influence and motivate than you may have thought possible.

We prefer to think of our creative department as not just “ad guys” but provocateurs and instigators.

No concept is great unless it does two things with ease. First, it should be big enough to span all media, including traditional and non-traditional platforms. Second, it should be compelling enough to provoke its audience to act, feel, think or change behavior.

Our skilled communications veterans with political and newsroom experience create and execute outreach strategies that move and influence media audiences across all platforms.

Satellite Media Tours

Radio Media Tours

Bites and B-roll Production and Distribution

National, Statewide and Local Pitching

PSA Distribution

In-studio and On-location Interviews

Production Support for Events

Spanish Language Outreach

Webinars and Webcasts

Audio News Releases

Targeted Digital Media Outreach

OpEd Writing and Pitching

Media Training

Coverage Monitoring and Analytics

Message Development

Strategic Guidance and Consulting

Having the luxury of an in-house production facility makes us more nimble and more flexible than the average agency.

From a 30-second spot to a long-form video to an unexpected viral campaign, our in-house team of storytellers, producers, shooters, editors and animators knows how to make your message move and how to move your audience with your message.

Effective cultural communication is about more than translation. It is done in-language and in-culture, with a constant and clear eye toward distribution and audience engagement. From executive leadership to front-line media specialists, we are staffed with linguistically and culturally fluent Spanish speakers ready to position your message for maximum effect.

Strategic Guidance and Consulting

Message Development

Media Training

Bilingual Satellite TV, Radio and Digital Media Tours

In-studio and On-location Interviews

Bites and B-roll Production and Distribution

Multi-Platform Content Creation

Creative Services

Brand Video Production

PSA Production and Distribution

Advertising

Production Support for Events

Webinars and Webcasts

Digital Media Strategy

Targeted Digital Media Outreach

Community Building and Audience Engagement

Social Media Strategy and Implementation

OpEd Writing and Pitching

Interactive Design and Development

Home Front’s in-house studio is a fully equipped, world-class broadcast production facility.

Paul FrickPartner & Co-Founder

Through almost 15 years working in support of political campaigns, Paul learned the value of integrated communications — strategy and tactics working together to generate results. At Home Front, Paul and Dan Sallick have built that idea into a forward-leaning communications agency serving non-profit, foundation, government and corporate clients. During the 1998 campaign cycle, Paul served the House Democratic leadership as Political Director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He also served as Senior Communications Strategist for House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt.

Dan SallickPartner & Co-Founder

Dan founded Home Front with Paul Frick in 1998. The two had worked together in political campaigns and government since 1990. Dan served as Press Secretary to House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt and as Communications Director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the successful 1998 election cycle. He is on the Board of Trustees of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. A graduate of Rollins College, he was an NCAA All-American in tennis in 1991.

Carlos RoigEVP, Media & Content Strategy

Carlos leads Home Front’s Media and Content Strategy Division with a strong emphasis on creative storytelling, strategic distribution and engagement on multiple platforms. He built and established the agency’s first Digital Media Strategy team before merging the digital, broadcast and print units into a single, integrated division. Prior to joining Home Front, Carlos led the site-wide development of niche-targeted online communities at USATODAY.com and directed USA Today’s full digital coverage of the 2008 election cycle. Carlos is also Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches graduate courses in journalism and digital strategy. He is fluent in Spanish.

Danielle WheltonSVP, Operations & Strategic Engagement

Danielle works to simplify all client interaction with Home Front, assisting in the cross-integration of divisions and ensuring a streamlined workflow on every project. She also manages and assists project and account managers in handling our most complex projects. Danielle is a veteran journalist, having spent more than a decade in a variety of roles for CNN and CNN International, rising to Senior Executive Producer-White House Unit, where she directed daily assignments for 18-20 CNN White House Unit personnel.

Kevin RichardsSVP, Creative Director

Kevin leads the creative development of large-scale campaigns at Home Front — everything from traditional advertising to viral videos, guerilla tactics and well-timed stunts. His true talent lies in gluing it all together with a simple and memorable idea. He conceives and creates uniquely engaging campaigns that inspire, motivate and produce the best possible results. Before joining Home Front, he was Associate Creative Director at SmithGifford, where he led the creative process — from concepting to pitching to execution and production.

Steve JostSVP, Content Strategy

Steve works to identify new strategies to develop and deliver content for our clients. Before joining Home Front, he spent more than seven years as a top official at the U.S. Census Bureau, both serving as Associate Director of Communications and overseeing the advertising, marketing and public relations for both the 2010 Census and the 2000 Census. More recently, Steve served in a newly created position in the Office of the Director as Chief Strategist for Data Dissemination.

Joy CameronVP, Media

Joy leads Home Front’s team of media specialists, overseeing the strategic development and tactical execution of media outreach initiatives. In nearly a decade of work at Home Front, she has built a deep understanding of what’s required for successful media campaigns, from framing strategy to overseeing logistical details. Joy established Home Front’s in-house broadcast production studio and has managed a range of productions. Joy holds a Bachelor of Arts from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs.

John SiniffVP, Content

John is a veteran journalist who brings a newsroom’s approach and perspective to Home Front’s diverse campaigns and content. In his 20-year career at USA Today he served as Senior Editor/Cover Story Editor, shaping the daily enterprise content across USA Today’s print and digital platforms. John also spent eight years as the Op-Ed Page Editor, helping to guide the tone and discussion on a wide range of topics of interest to both print and online readers.

Marcos BallesteroVP, Director of Interactive

Marcos leads all brand, creative, user experience and technical development for our digital projects. He is also the Interactive Creative Director, responsible for managing Home Front’s cross-disciplinary interactive team, capabilities and resources. Before joining Home Front, Marcos was VP, Digital Creative Director at Weber Shandwick Public Relations, where he served as the Digital Creative Practice Lead for the Baltimore office and across the global company on strategic engagements. Marcos has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Studio Art from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jonathan GardnerChief Operating Officer

As COO, Jonathan is responsible for all contracts, vendor relationships, procedures and processes, with an eye toward enhancing the company’s efficiency and improving all the work we do for our clients. Before joining Home Front, he was CEO Asia Pacific & Global Chief Operating Officer for D.C.-based Penn Schoen Berland Associates, where he oversaw the daily operations of 200 employees in offices around the world.

Acedro ToddSenior Designer

Ace works closely with the Creative Director in developing cross-platform campaigns. He develops concepts and designs for a variety of deliverables, including traditional and non-traditional advertising; branding and visual identity; website design and layout; digital media channels; and print assets. Before joining Home Front, Ace was a Senior Graphic Designer at NDG Communications.

Andrew LewisSr. Manager, Digital Content

Andrew implements and executes digital content strategies that help promote and expand the influence of our clients. Before joining Home Front, Andrew was a speechwriter and Director of Online Communications for Rep. Louise Slaughter and the House Committee on Rules, as well as a Senior Account Executive at New Partners Inc. Andrew has a B.A. in International Studies from American University.

Austen WilliamsProducer / Project Manager

Austen produces and manages video, interactive and broadcast projects. Before joining Home Front, she was a Production Assistant at Bloomberg Television and an Associate Producer at C-SPAN. Austen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Indiana University.

Ben DeMeoSenior Comptroller

Ben provides billing and account management for our diverse roster of clients. His experience includes time as Director of Finance and Administration for Commercial Carpets of America, Controller for GreenShape, LLC, and CFO/President/Owner of Capital Ventures, LLC. He has an M.S. in Accounting from Pace University and a B.S. in Business Administration from The American University.

Brian ForemanStudio Operator

Brian is responsible for operating Studio14DC, including cameras and lighting equipment for both live and taped studio productions. He also works closely with producers in the creation of various long- and short-form video packages. Before joining Home Front, he was a Production Assistant with the Frederick County (Maryland) Government Interagency Information Technologies. He has a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Media and Film from Towson University.

Carrie CostaInteractive Technical Writer

Carrie provides technical writing and editing expertise for the Interactive team. She has worked in a diverse range of IT fields, including Telecommunications, Networking, Broadcast and Software Development. She also has experience in business and requirements analysis, as well as project management. Carrie holds a B.A. in English from George Mason University.

Christina KimInteractive Art Director

Christina helps create the look and feel of our websites and other interactive tools. Before joining Home Front, she was the Creative and Brand Identity Manager at Hilton Worldwide. She also lived in New York City and Boston, working at Ogilvy and Mather and Nitro Group, where she designed for a variety of consumer, B2B and financial clients.

Courtney MillerManager, Digital Content

Courtney manages, develops and delivers thoughtfully and strategically planned digital content for a number of clients. Before joining Home Front, she was a Marketing and Communications Manager for IDS International. Courtney holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Indiana University Bloomington.

Daisy NguyenAccount Manager

Daisy leads projects from inception to execution, including managing the people, resources and scope to ensure each deliverable meets a client’s goals. Before joining Home Front, she was a Marketing Project Manager at USA Today, where she developed and executed marketing plans, creative briefs and editorial calendars across Gannett organizations. She was also an Account Executive at SmithGifford. Daisy has a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from The Art Institute of Washington.

Dan TynanArt Director

Dan works on the conception and creation of 360-degree ad campaigns. Before joining Home Front, he spent three years as an Art Director at Fathom Communications in New York City. He focused on consumer advertising in print, digital, social and broadcast and branding for clients such as Optimum, Amaro Montenegro, YoCrunch, Propel and The Tony Awards. Dan holds a BFA from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York.

Dennis TurbevilleArt Director

Dennis works to create the look and feel of our diverse interactive projects. Before joining Home Front, he was a Sr. Designer at Beth Singer Design, where he worked on websites, mobile apps, print and large-format environmental projects. Dennis holds a BFA in Graphic Design from Robert Morris University.

Dianne MikeskaAccount Director

Dianne guides both strategy and execution for all our efforts on behalf of the Association of American Railroads. She has extensive experience with b2b and government clients. Before joining Home Front, Dianne was an Account Supervisor at Peter Mayer and a Brand Strategist at Trumpet, both in New Orleans. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the University of Texas at Austin.

Ebony WilderMedia Specialist

Ebony implements and executes broadcast media strategies, conducting targeted outreach to television and radio outlets across the country. Before joining Home Front, she was an Assistant Account Executive at Strauss Radio Strategies and a Media Researcher at Vocus Inc. Ebony holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Maryland College Park, where she is also currently pursuing a Master of Science in Management: Public Relations.

Emily FreednerProject Manager

Emily leads projects from inception to execution, including managing the people, resources and scope to ensure each deliverable meets a client’s goals. In her time at Home Front, she’s also worked closely with the most senior members of our team and helped manage major projects. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Ithaca College.

Erik LundstromDigital Media Specialist

Erik works closely with our clients on the daily management of their digital media presences. Before joining Home Front, he was a Digital Media Assistant at gmmb, as well as a Marketing Associate and Social Media Director for Zipcar DC. Erik holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Arizona.

Francesca KritzSenior Editor

Fran is a Senior Editor working on a broad range of health topics and the Senior Reporter for NewPublicHealth, the news and information forum produced by Home Front on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Public Health team. She has more than 30 years of experience in journalism and public relations, with a strong focus on health and science. Fran has a Master of Science in Economic History from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Touro College.

Jacqueline BengelAccount Director

Jacqueline manages and implements diverse media outreach campaigns, with a focus on grassroots issue advocacy organizations. She began with Home Front in 2007 in New York. After serving as a media aid to the Chief Dental Officer of the Centre for Oral Health Strategy, Department of Health in New South Wales, Australia, she returned to Washington, D.C. to continue her work with Home Front. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Jannie GerdsAssociate Creative Director

Jannie brings innate curiosity and award-winning experience to our creative department, where she works closely with the Creative Director to conceive and execute thought-provoking campaigns. Before joining Home Front, she worked on accounts ranging from Miller Brewing Company and Marriott Resorts to Unum and Fantastic Sams. Jannie served as an instructor at The Creative Circus, one of the country’s leading advertising portfolio finishing schools, as well as on its advisory board. A graduate of Portfolio Center, she also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from the University of Georgia.

Jason FreeDirector of Creative Production

Jason conceives, shoots, edits and produces videos, 3D animation and motion graphics for Home Front’s diverse clients. His work before joining Home Front included time on the road with the band U2, creating tour visuals and editing their 2007 feature-length concert film, “U2 3D.” He’s also created marketing videos for Apple in Cuppertino, as well as produced and edited music videos for Kings of Leon, Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. Jason got his start working in the feature film creative department at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.

Joe BacchusEditor

Joe provides idea generation, research, writing and editing for proposals, strategy memos and an array of RFP responses. He also writes and edits online content and infographic materials. Before joining Home Front, Joe was a General Assignment Reporter, Technology Reporter and Web Specialist for The Daily Record, a Maryland-wide business and legal daily newspaper based in Baltimore, Md. He has a Master of Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Vanderbilt University.

John DuckwitzSenior Account Director

John manages the needs of our broadcast clients — everything from producing media tours in our studio to managing field shoots to refining core messaging and budgets. Before joining Home Front, he worked on the news desk for CBS’ Foreign News Bureau in London, England. He was also a Publicity and Events Consultant for the Entertainment Industries Council. John has a Bachelor of Arts in Media Production & Criticism from George Mason University.

John EvansJr. Copywriter

John first set out for a life in music (he plays the cello, mandolin and piano) before also finding his way to copywriting. He began his career at Leo Burnett Mumbai in India. John holds a B.S. in Creative Advertising from Virginia Commonwealth University.

John SimpsonIT Coordinator

John is responsible for all IT assets, from computers to phone systems. He previously supported major government agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce. John served in the U.S. Navy and holds an associate’s degree from the Community College of Baltimore County.

Julie HudakSenior Front End Developer

Julie develops websites and online tools as a member of our Interactive team. Before joining Home Front, she was a front-end developer at Saforian, an interactive engineering company. She also has years of experience in the political marketing and publishing world as a graphic designer. Julie has a B.A. in Graphic Design from Salisbury University.

Justine MorganProject Manager

Justine works across all departments to ensure client projects are completed quickly and efficiently. Before joining Home Front, she was a Marketing Client Manager at Beaconfire Consulting and an Interactive Content Manager at Peter Mayer in New Orleans. Justine holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and American Studies from the University of Michigan.

Kaela AsharinMedia Assistant

Kaela works closely with our Senior Directors of Media Operations and Client Services for the broadcast team, as well as on the reporting and monitoring process for all broadcast media projects. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Boston University.

Lisa S. CullenAccount Director

Lisa provides strategic leadership and implements programs on behalf of many of Home Front’s clients. Prior to joining Home Front, she was a VP of Public Relations and Social Media for the Ad Council, where she promoted the non-profit organization and its public service advertising (PSA) campaigns to both the media and the campaigns’ key target audiences. She also managed the creation and implementation of public relations and social media programs on behalf of 25 PSA campaigns. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Roanoke College.

Meredith FriedlineCopywriter

Meredith is fueled by curiosity and a relentless energy that leads to original thinking every time. Before joining Home Front, she worked as a copywriter at both HZ Design Group and Havit Advertising. Meredith is a graduate of the Creative Circus and holds a B.S. in Consumer Journalism from the University of Georgia.

Meredith WilliamsSenior Project Manager

Meredith executes all integrated efforts on behalf of the Association of American Railroads. Before joining Home Front, she was an Account Executive for Gold Dog Communications, and brings more than seven years of diverse experience in account management, event planning and retail marketing/leasing to our team. Meredith holds a Bachelor of Arts in Integrated Marketing/Corporate Communications from Duquesne University.

Michelle BrowningMarketing Manager

Michelle develops and implements our strategic marketing initiatives, including the management of our proposal response and pitch processes. Before joining Home Front, she was responsible for identifying and managing new business as a Marketing Communications Coordinator at Publicis Hawkeye. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Communications from Clemson University.

Neomah RobertsFinancial Administration

Neomah provides support to the accounting department, processing billing, tracking project expenses, and completing client and employee document requests, in addition to being the vendor liaison and administering employee benefits. Before joining Home Front she served as the Assistant Office Manager at the Brand Law Group. Neomah earned a Business Administration degree at Everest College.

Patrick EversonSenior Art Director

Patrick conceives and creates striking visual content that combines engaging graphics and copy. Before joining Home Front, he was Senior Art Director at Equals Three Communications, where he led development of digital media and community outreach campaign to promote awareness and participation with the U.S. Navy SEALs among athletic minority youth in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore regions. His design experience stretches from exhibition design to website and visual identity. Patrick has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications Design from Syracuse University.

Paul WindArt Director

Paul helps conceive and develop creative for some of our largest clients, including Freight Rail Works and Toyota. Before joining Home Front, he was an Art Director at Havit Advertising and a Graphic Designer at SmithGifford. Paul holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from James Madison University, having double majored in Graphic Design and English.

Peter DemchukSenior Producer

Peter produces video narratives, motion graphic content and multimedia presentations for organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Save the Children, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Association of American Railroads and the MacArthur Foundation. Before joining Home Front, he worked at The Discovery Channel, ABC News Nightline, Koppel Communication Inc.’s The Koppel Report and ABC News. He has produced or co-produced national, international, political, investigative and culture/feature stories.

Rebekah PepperMedia Specialist

Rebekah implements and executes broadcast media strategies, conducting targeted outreach to television and radio outlets across the country. Before joining Home Front she was a Conference Coordinator for Gannett Co., where she booked and planned meetings and events at the Conference Center, which included coordinating all logistics of events. She holds an M.A. in Journalism and Public Affairs from American University and a B.A. in Government, with a minor in Journalism, from Regent University.

Sammy KauffmanOffice Manager

As office manager Sammy fills a number of important roles, from serving as executive assistant for Home Front’s founding partners to monitoring the daily management of office equipment. Sammy has a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from St. Bonaventure University.

Sandra TorresSenior Media Specialist

Sandra is the pitch team leader and implements and executes broadcast and digital media strategies. She conducts targeted English and Spanish outreach to national television, local television, radio and online producers across the country. She books and produces full media tours, crafts media alerts and utilizes metrics to ensure the effectiveness of campaigns. Sandra graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. She is a native Spanish speaker.

Tiffany KalmarProducer / Project Manager

Tiffany manages large-scale projects that combine video, interactive and digital media elements. She produces video projects and assists in production and post-production. Before joining Home Front, Tiffany was an Associate Producer at Sirens Media and an Associate Producer at Discovery Studios. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Political Science from Virginia Tech.

Timothy ZiembickiDirector of Operations

Tim manages and schedules client projects across all departments in order to ensure their prompt and successful delivery. He has developed and managed multi-channel campaigns for government agencies, private sector organizations, charities and nonprofits.

Virginia GamboaMedia Specialist

Virginia promotes and pitches Spanish-language news stories in media markets across the country. Before joining Home Front, she was a Hispanic Banking Program Manager for Capital One, where she managed the multicultural media and community relation strategies and branding for 144 branches. Virginia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Journalism from the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

Will BoydSenior Web Developer

Will develops both the front-ends and back-ends of our websites and interactive tools. Before joining Home Front, he was head of Marketing Operations at ScienceLogic. He also previously performed web development work for the Tauri Group. Will has a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Mary Washington.

Native Content Experts Share Insights at Home Front Panel Event

Native content is quickly becoming an essential component of comprehensive media plans, particularly in policy-focused circles. Publications such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Hill, Vox Media and BuzzFeed are now running active native content programs and hosting sponsored story packages.

Home Front Communications recently hosted an invitation-only forum in Washington, D.C., featuring a group of native content experts. The panel was moderated by Carlos Roig, Home Front’s EVP of media and content strategy, and presented the insights of three panelists — Kelly Andresen, director of Ad Innovations and Project Strategy at The Washington Post, Marty Moe, president of Vox Media, and Jeff Pyatt, head of PR & DR Initiatives at Outbrain.

“Native content helps non-media organizations become publishers themselves and go directly to their audience,” said Roig. The Post’s Andresen agreed. “We’re really focused on the content matching the form of [The Washington Post.]”

The concept starts with great storytelling and great content, said Moe, of Vox Media. “Our view is [that] advertising content or message-based content can and should be as good as anything else and if it does the job right, it’s going to make people say, ‘Wow, that was great.’”

“Increasingly, every brand has great content and they’re telling great stories,” said Jeff Pyatt of Outbrain, who gave sites such as Coca-Cola Journey and Exxon Mobil Perspectives as strong examples. Pyatt noted, however, that it’s not enough to create compelling content. Part two of the job, he told the audience, is getting that story in front of readers. “It’s great to create this story, but it’s equally important to think about distribution. If you write a blog and nobody comes to read it, did you write a blog?” asked Pyatt, with a laugh.

Vox’s Moe told the audience that it is critical to get readers thinking as a result of the content you provide. Readers in platforms such as Politico and The Washington Post have a lot of information so “it’s really important to have something that not only educates them but surprises them as well.” Moe told the audience that once Vox, which owns multiple sites, determines the right content for a client, “we also have to determine how we get that story in front of all of our readers. This type of storytelling has forced us to hone both content production and distribution expertise but it only works if you’re…getting better at it every day,” said Moe.

Outbrain’s Pyatt predicted that as more and more money goes into content, “[there will be] more and more pressure to connect those efforts to the bottom line. So you not only have to find your audience, you also have to show signals that you’re actually getting … one step closer to an actual conversation … whether that’s an email sign-up, a subscription sign up [or] an actual sale of products. That’s a big challenge.”

Marty Moe summed up the importance of including native content in any organization’s arsenal of communications options: “It’s about the client and the objectives they want to reach with a campaign.”

American Traffic Solutions Examines Risks of Traveling To and From School

All across the country, kids are heading back to school. Some are driven by their parents, others drive themselves, and still others take a school bus, walk or ride a bike. It should be a safe trip — once in the morning, once in the afternoon. But it isn’t always.

This week, American Traffic Solutions (ATS) released a report detailing the dangers students face because of careless drivers, as well as how traffic camera technology can make streets safer by making everyone more aware of their surroundings.

On the Bus — Approximately 26 million elementary and secondary school students ride school buses every day, totaling to 20 billion instances of kids getting on and off school buses. Unfortunately, in 2014 alone school bus drivers recorded 75,966 instances of drivers illegally passing their busses. According to ATS, in communities that use cameras to monitor the “stop arms” on school busses, more than 99 percent of drivers who get caught passing a school bus never go on to receive a second citation.

In a School Zone — Approximately one out of every six drivers are distracted and two out of every three are speeding when passing through school zones. While there’s no safe speed for a car when it comes to hitting a pedestrian, the faster they’re going, the more dangerous it is — at 20 miles per hour, the pedestrian has a 95 percent chance of survival, but at 40 miles per hour the survival rate is only 20 percent. Children, because of their size, are at the greatest risk. According to ATS, cameras can monitor school zones when police aren’t available and give drivers additional incentive to pay attention to the road. One example, in Seattle, found a 27 percent drop in school zone speeding after the installation of a speed safety camera program.

IANA's 'More Than You Imagine' Campaign Wins a Gold Addy

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), which is the leading association representing the intermodal freight industry, came to Home Front looking for ideas on how to refresh its annual conference while also getting its members and attendees excited about the enhanced EXPO experience.

In response, Home Front’s creative team conceived and executed the comprehensive “More Than You Imagine” campaign. The integrated campaign brought together print, video and promotional materials to re-brand IANA’s annual conference and offer attendees a new way of looking at the industry. The campaign was unveiled at the association’s 2013 EXPO and set the stage for the 2014 EXPO in Long Beach, Calif., Sept. 21 to 23.

Our work on behalf of IANA was recently named a Gold Addy winner at the regional level American Advertising Awards. The regional Addy competition includes D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This follows the campaign’s success last March, when the IANA Integrated Business-to-Business Campaign won gold at the local D.C. American Advertising Awards.

We believe that our IANA work is an excellent example of our team’s integrated approach to creative campaigns — each individual piece builds on the core message and powerfully tells the IANA story.

NPH's 'Outbreak Week' to Be Presented at APHA's Annual Meeting

Representing the third-leading cause of death in the United States and causing 15 million deaths worldwide, infectious diseases threaten the health and wellbeing of families and individuals across the country. Despite this clear threat, the Outbreaks: Protecting Americans from Infectious Disease report by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) found that we are inadequately prepared to prevent, control, or treat infectious disease outbreaks. The country’s limited resources and outdated systems make it almost impossible.

Our digital team worked with longtime client RWJF to create “Outbreak Week” on NewPublicHealth to highlight this problem. The Outbreak Week effort aimed to better educate individuals on the dangers of infectious diseases and how to better prepare for an outbreak by taking a novel approach and utilizing a wide variety of social media outlets and innovative techniques. Outbreak Week was recently chosen from a large pool of applicants to be presented at this year’s American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Exposition, one of the biggest public health meetings in the country.

Through the innovative work of our social media team and digital content creators, Outbreak Week successfully targeted the core NewPublicHealth audience while also extending its reach by capturing the attention of new, younger members of the public health audience—significantly increasing website page views and social media activity, while also growing the Twitter audience for RWJF’s Public Health team. Also, despite the fact that the event came at the very end of the year, two Outbreak Week posts made it into the top 10 NewPublicHealth posts for all of 2013.

APHA’s 142nd Annual Meeting and Exposition will be held November 15-19, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are anticipating more than 12,500 attendees—making it one of the biggest public health meetings in the country.

¡Adiós, Translation!: Cultural Relevance Takes Center Stage

Hispanic-focused communications programs help organizations move past direct translations and into more nuanced campaigns that educate audiences and spur action.

“We think a lot about how important it is to communicate in culture, not just in language,” said Carlos Roig, Executive Vice President of Media and Content Strategy at Home Front Communications, at a recent panel discussion hosted by Home Front in Washington, D.C.

The invitation-only program, “Hispanic Media Trends and the New Cultural Communications Landscape,” was moderated by Roig and presented by the agency’s new culture-focused strategic communications division, Home Front Cultural. The panel featured Pablo Sanchez, a Washington News Producer with the Univision Network; Lori Montenegro, a National Correspondent for Telemundo; and Julio Ricardo Varela, the founder of the Latino Rebels.

Key takeaways from the panelists included:

Despite being a sizable and growing demographic group, U.S. Hispanics are still being underserved by public information campaigns that are conceived in English and then translated into Spanish.

Information translated directly from English to Spanish — without considering varying perspectives or language preferences — often lacks cultural sensibility and therefore doesn’t capture the attention of the audience.

Literal translations from English to Spanish often yield communications that are confusing and of little value for a Hispanic audience.

Many Hispanics in the United States today move seamlessly between English and Spanish, and want the same level of sophistication in the content they read and watch, regardless of the language.

Research and data about consumption of media by U.S. Hispanics provide organizations with valuable intelligence when creating and framing communications plans.

The panel discussed at length the Spanish-language campaigns released last year to publicize the availability of free or low-cost health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The New York Times reported, for instance, that California’s high-profile rollout failed to offer Spanish-language applications at launch and even had translation errors for weeks after it went live.

The ACA publicity efforts, which regularly relied on direct translations from English to Spanish, also often overlooked cultural differences among Hispanics. Sanchez pointed out that a Hispanic mother would be unlikely to spend $50 a month on health care for herself when there were other expenses needed for the household, but would be more likely to sign on if a campaign explained that having no health insurance could mean leaving behind debts for her family. And Montenegro pointed out that advocating for yourself in the health care system was a consistent theme, but often fell on confused ears among a Hispanic audience whose culture makes respect for health care professionals paramount.

“Any communication plans always say let’s do the English first…so, you’re already starting in a deficit,” said Varela. “What’s actually needed is a focus on the very specific audience you’re targeting.”

The audience and panel frequently mentioned the need to change the flawed perception that today’s Hispanic audience is monolithic. People from different Spanish-speaking countries, even if they have been in the United States for decades, may use different Spanish words to translate a word from English. “You have to think of that one word that everybody is going to understand, and it’s still messy,” said Montenegro.

The panelists agreed that it’s always important go back to your audience and hear their reaction. “You’ll become a better organization…by listening to what people are saying,” said Varela.

Roig noted that the seed of a successful communications strategy — in any language — is understanding the target audience’s unique perspective and tailoring tactics to attract attention. This start-with-the-basics approach yields campaigns that always speak clearly and passionately — in English, Spanish or an artful blend of the two.

'The Story of Cancer': A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Film's Making

Everyone has a cancer story. It could be about a parent, a friend, a coworker — or even themselves. Cancer is a ubiquitous disease that will affect approximately one in two men and one in three women during their lifetimes. But what exactly is it that science and medicine have been fighting for so long?

That was the question put to Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee by a patient who had just been told that they, too, had cancer. And it was the question in his mind when he set about writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer — a pseudo-biography of the disease, its impact on more than five thousand years of civilization and how we’ve been fighting back.

The bestseller has now inspired a new landmark PBS documentary — “The Story of Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies” — by award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns and WETA. As part of the multimedia promotion of the film, Home Front created and launched The Producers’ Blog, which will give readers a behind-the-scenes look into how the film is made, as it’s being made. The new website, which only recently went online, was a collaborative effort between our digital and editorial teams and will follow the film’s production until it’s released next year.

ASHA's 'Identify the Signs' Wins PRSA Commendation

An estimated 40 million people in the United States experience communication disorders, which can significantly affect future success in academics, a career, or even society if left untreated. Yet there is still widespread misunderstanding about the disorders and the importance of early detection. A survey by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) found that 45 percent of certified experts reported a lack of awareness among parents as the leading barrier to early detection of communication disorders.

Home Front’s team of strategic and creative thinkers worked with ASHA to develop a first-of-its-kind, bilingual, multimedia “Identify the Signs” campaign to raise awareness of the early warning signs of communication disorders. The campaign recently won the 2014 Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation from the Public Relations Society of America, which celebrates the “best of the best” in public relations tactics.

The award-winning campaign targeted parents, guardians of young children and caregivers of elderly adults, reaching an estimated 40.1 million people via television PSAs and 45.4 million via radio PSAs — and all from September to December of 2013.

ASHA is the national professional scientific, and credentialing association for more than 173,000 audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel; and students.

'See Tracks? Think Train' PSA Campaign Helps Keep People Safe

Man versus train. It’s no contest. Unfortunately there’s a reason the classic adage “common sense isn’t actually all that common” is still around. Take walking near or on train tracks. Common sense say’s that’s dangerous. And the numbers back it up:

Every three hours someone is hit by a train in the United States

908 pedestrians were injured or killed while walking on or near railroad tracks in 2013, up 7.7 percent from 843 in 2012

1,193 people were injured or killed at railroad grade crossings, up 1.5 percent from 1,175 in 2012

Yet some people still take the needless and careless risk, when a typical freight train can take more than a mile to stop — even when the emergency brakes are applied.

One of our long-time client partners is the Association of American Railroads (AAR). We worked with both AAR and Operation Lifesaver to create the “See Tracks? Think Train” campaign to educate key audiences on how to be safe around railroad tracks, grade crossings and transit platforms. The project brought together a collaborative team of players across all divisions of Home Front to conceive, create and promote a comprehensive campaign. Our work included a website, a video PSA and supporting campaign materials, as well as a satellite and radio media tour combined with a Bites & B-roll package to get the word out.

“See Tracks? Think Train” is a clear example of how an array of media tactics can combine into a single, powerful strategy to get our client’s message heard.

Home Front Brings Home Gold, Silver ADDYs

At Home Front we pride ourselves both on our fantastic array of client partners and on the many ways they call upon us to make their messages heard. These both came together recently when the DC Ad Club hosted the American Advertising Awards-DC Gala, to which 87 ad agencies, design firms, in-house marketing departments, freelancers, interactive firms, production companies, public relations firms and students submitted more than 650 entries.

The American Advertising Awards is the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition — attracting more than 40,000 entries every year in local Ad Club competitions — and the local Ad Club phase is the first of a three-tier, national competition to recognize and reward excellence in the art of advertising.

We’re proud of each. And we’re proud of what they represent altogether — proof of the power of high-impact, smart, artful creative when combined with detailed editorial planning, digital engagement and dedicated client management.

Can Mazda Out ‘Classy’ Ron Burgundy?

What do Ron Burgundy and Danny Thomas have in common? They’re both helping sell vehicles on television these days. And that’s about where the similarity ends.

While ad geeks go gaga over Dodge’s product placement in Anchorman 2 and Will Ferrell’s high-profile commercials, Thomas has helped create a far more sincere message in Mazda’s “Drive for Good” charitable giving campaign — raising the question of which company really gets more long-term mileage out of their campaign?

We love the Dodge spots, but we also embrace the importance of brands giving back to the communities that buy their products. Mazda has chosen to sell cars and to tap into a heritage of social responsibility.

As Americans increasingly choose and embrace companies that align with their values, Mazda plays a different card, one that will thrive well beyond Anchorman 2 (and 3). If you haven’t seen the television spot, go here or watch it below.

Twitter 'Alerts' Feature to Keep People Informed During Disasters

Building on the success of last year’s Lifeline feature, which helps Japanese users find critical information during events such as natural disasters, Twitter has launched a new Twitter Alerts feature that provides people with important and accurate information during emergencies, natural disasters and other times when other communication services are down.

By signing up for an account’s Twitter Alerts, users will automatically receive notifications whenever that account sends out a Tweet marked as an alert. The alerts will be marked with an orange bell to help them stand out.

ASHA Campaign on Early Detection of Communication Disorders

Difficulty communicating afflicts an estimated 40 million Americans. By the first grade, roughly 5 percent of children have noticeable speech disorders, which greatly impact their academic performances and social interactions with their peers. While early detection is critical, a poll from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) found that more than 45 percent of certified experts report the lack of awareness among parents as the leading barrier to early detection of communication disorders.

With this in mind, Home Front worked with ASHA to develop the “Identify the Signs” multimedia public education campaign to raise awareness of the importance of early detection and tell people where they can turn for help. Our creative team developed English and Spanish television and radio spots for the campaign, as well as English print and online banner ads. We also coordinated the campaign’s launch and media outreach, and will continue to support ASHA with public outreach surrounding the campaign.

Below is the new television spot. Go here to view all the “Identify the Signs” multimedia content.

BuckleUpForLife.org to Help Keep Kids Safe

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13 and only 1 in 4 child car seats in the United States are properly installed. The numbers are even more troubling for Hispanic and African-American children, who are 10 times less likely to be properly restrained in a vehicle. Many of these injuries and deaths could be avoided with the use of proper restraints like child car seats, booster seats and seatbelts.

Home Front’s team of designers and developers have just launched BuckleUpForLife.org, the online home of Cincinnati Children’s and Toyota’s community-based safety program to educate families on critical safety behaviors and provide free child car seats to families in need.

The website utilizes striking statistics and engaging imagery to explain the importance of child passenger safety and exactly how to make sure kids are safe.

ACS CAN Rally on Capitol Hill to Make Cancer a National Priority

One-in-two men and one-in-three women nationally will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Each day sees another 1,500 Americans lost to the disease. With such wide reach, cancer affects every one of us.

Led by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), hundreds of cancer patients, survivors and volunteers gathered on Capitol Hill today to advocate for setting the fight against cancer as a national priority. The group called on federal lawmaker support in three key areas:

Co-sponsor legislation designed to improve the quality of life for cancer patients through better access to palliative care services and coordinated care. The bills focus on public outreach, research and workforce training.

Support a 94-cent increase to the federal tobacco tax that would help adults quit and give kids yet another reason to never even start smoking.

Home Front was proud to help promote and coordinate today’s event with ACS CAN. The nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem.

APA: Removing the Stigma From Mental Health Treatment

One in four Americans — more than 60 million people — will be impacted by mental illness this year. More than 13 million of these people live with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, major depression, or bipolar disorder. At the same time, the stigma surrounding mental illness means that only about 38 percent of U.S. adults with diagnosable mental illnesses, and less than 20 percent of children and adolescents, receive the treatment they need.

A new series of Public Service Advertisements from the American Psychiatric Association, “A Healthy Minds Minute,” are calling for people with mental illness and substance use disorders to have equal access to quality care and insurance coverage. They feature former Congressman Patrick Kennedy as the spokesperson.

This message is especially important now, during National Suicide Prevention Month. The theme for the 11th-annual World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10 is “Stigma: A Major Barrier for Suicide Prevention.” Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in United States, and the stigma of mental health meant many people who take their lives suffer in silence rather than reaching out to loved ones or contacting health or social services.

Despite the devastation that hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and other natural disasters have caused in recent years, six out of 10 Americans don’t have a disaster plan and only 19 percent consider themselves very prepared for a disaster.

There’s no question that more parents need to sit down with their kids and make sure everyone in the family is ready for an emergency and knows their role. But, many parents view the actual chance of a disaster striking their family as so remote that preparation takes a back seat to day-to-day life. And for others the topic is just too difficult to bring up.

As part of the tenth annual National Preparedness Month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Ad Council are launching a new series of public service advertisements (PSA) to help get those conversations started. The PSAs are part of Ready Kids, an extension of FEMA’s national Ready Emergency Preparedness campaign. By showing absurd family conversations covering some of the problems that can occur when people aren’t prepared — “I’ll pack the dead batteries” and “I’ll try to get the generator going without any gas” — the campaign emphasizes the importance of actually sitting down and preparing your family for an emergency.

We have long histories working closely with the Ad Council and on the Ready campaign, and our Broadcast team helped promote this project. You can go to the CNN.com story “Your family’s emergency kit is probably a disaster” to read about the new campaign and watch a video.

America's Promise Alliance's 'Grad Nation' Video Shoot

America’s Promise Alliance’s Grad Nation campaign is a collection of people, organizations and communities working to end America’s dropout crisis. It was founded in 2010 and now — for the first time ever — the country is on track to reach the goal of 90 percent national graduation rate by 2020.

The Grad Nation Community Summits are designed to help ensure that goal becomes a reality across the country. The current plan is for 100 summits through 2016, each bringing together leaders from businesses, civic organizations, non-profits, local government, public schools, higher education, foundations and faith-based organizations with parents and young people to develop a blueprint to accelerate progress. The basis of the new plans will be the Five Promises that can dramatically increase the chance of success: caring adults, safe places, an effective education, a healthy start and opportunities to help others.

Last week, Home Front’s creative and production teams worked with America’s Promise Alliance’s and the D.C. Promise Neighborhood Initiative to create an engaging video to inspire and encourage collaboration among organizations and individuals to provide young people with the opportunities they need to succeed.

We’re still editing, but here’s a quick peek behind the scenes of the video shoot:

Aurora Survivors to Complete Cross-country Bicycle Trip

On July 19, 2012, two friends on a cross-country bicycle trip from Virginia Beach to San Francisco decided to stop in Aurora, Colorado to rest and to visit with a mutual friend. The group went to see the midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” – a fateful decision that put them in the path of a gunman who left 12 people dead and another 70 injured in the packed theater that night.

This past Sunday, survivors Stephen Barton and Ethan Rodriguez-Torrent reunited in Aurora to finish the cross-country trip that began last summer. They know how difficult it will be, physically, but to have the opportunity to finish their journey now means so much more to both of them. From their blog:

“But we have a lot of motivation. For one thing, it’s important to us personally that we finish what we started; the American West awaits, and after all, who wants to finish just two-thirds of a cross-country trip? This year, unlike last, we also have a lot of external motivation. We’re using our trip, and any public attention we may receive because of it, as an opportunity to raise money for some of the Aurora shooting victims who were much less fortunate than we were.”

We at Home Front are especially proud of our recent work with the Mayors Against Illegal Guns national bus tour calling for common-sense gun laws. On behalf of victims of gun violence everywhere, including survivors of the Aurora shooting like Steven and Ethan, we encourage all of our friends and family to go here to donate to Ride for Aurora. Your donation will go toward the medical expenses of the the Aurora victims with the most serious permanent injuries.

Hair Cuttery: Free Back-to-School Haircuts to Kids in Need

The National Retail Federation puts the average cost of back-to-school spending per family at nearly $700 — and for many families, every dollar counts. What’s more, a recent survey of parents of school-aged children found that 88 percent of parents believe that the simple act of receiving a new haircut can improve a child’s social and emotional confidence. That means performing better in the classroom.

Realizing this, Hair Cuttery is donating one free haircut to a child in need for every child’s haircut purchased in August. The company is also partnering with “mommy” bloggers to help get the word out, providing sidebar widgets to share a Hair Cuttery link. The blogger with the most shares will receive $5,000 to donate to the education charities of their choice.

Local government and community organizations expect to distribute about 100,000 back-to-school haircut vouchers, at a value of approximately $1.6 million.

We recently took part in a national Radio Media Tour (RMT) to promote the “Share-a-Haircut” program. Where Hair Cuttery’s Director of Community Relations Diane Daly explained the important of the program. More than 900 of the chain’s salons are participating. This is the program’s fourteenth year and it’s given out more than 700,000 haircuts to kids in need.

NHTSA's Campaign Against Impaired Driving

More than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2010. That’s one person every 51 minutes. On top of the human toll, alcohol-impaired crashes also cost an estimated $37 billion annually.

As part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) upcoming impaired driving campaign, Home Front spent a night with Washington, D.C.’s police department at a sobriety checkpoint in a downtown area known for its nightlife. Our producers and videographers documented exactly what police officers face when they’re out on the streets — night after night — to stop drunk drivers before they can get a chance to hurt themselves and others.

The video is still in production, but here’s a quick look at the scene.

Twitter Roundup: NHTSA, Analytics & Color

Home Front’s Twitter account is a source for commentary on the latest news and innovations in the world of digital communications — and a place to see and experience the work we do on behalf of our diverse clients.

A quick look back on the past couple weeks…

Home Front, NHTSA and the D.C. police are working together to combat drunk driving. Take a peek at a recent video shoot. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

'Kids LiveWell' Program Gives Parents Healthy Dining Options

This month marks the two-year anniversary of the National Restaurant Association’s Kids LiveWell program, which works to help parents and kids find healthy menu options when dining out. Almost 140 restaurant brands with more than 40,000 locations — including big names such as Applebee’s, Chili’s and Outback Steakhouse — are part of the program.

Our broadcast media team has been working closely with the association to promote the industry’s commitment to offering healthful meal options to kids, utilizing the scientific recommendations of leading health organizations, including the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines.

Take a minute to watch Joy Dubost, PhD, Director of Nutrition for the National Restaurant Association and a registered dietician, speak with KUSA-TV in Denver, Colorado. You can also find healthy dining options at HealthyDiningFinder.com and by downloading the free Kids LiveWell app in the Android Market and iTunes app store.

'Social Media Today' on Building Brand Advocacy

A lot of brands have large followings on social media — but what does that really mean? Just because someone is an online fan of a brand doesn’t mean they’re actually advocating the brand in any way that will help increase sales. A recent post from Social Media Today explains how, when it comes to building brand advocacy, not all “fans” are created equal.

“Not every fan of a brand’s Facebook page actually is interested in sharing about the company’s news, and a brand doesn’t (or shouldn’t) want every individual who likes their page as a brand representative.”

The author offers five key steps on how to create an effective brand-consumer experience:

Develop an understanding of what will motivate fans to advocacy — Insider info, rewards and other ongoing efforts can help pull in and maintain brand fans

Use gamification to encourage action — Using game mechanics in a non-game setting

Empower the fans on their favorite networks — Use existing social media networks rather than trying to create your own

Measure! — Track your results to see what works and what doesn’t

Go here to read the full post with more expansive explanations of the key steps.

BPC: CEOs Explain Importance of Workplace Health in Videos

Last week the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), in partnership with business and health leaders, launched its new CEO Council on Health and Innovation dedicated to learning about and developing best practices to improve health and wellness in the workforce. The CEO Council will then pass those lessons on to large and medium-sized employers.

“Simply put, our goal is quality health care in this country that is more accessible and affordable,” said Patrick Soon-Shiong, CEO Council co-chair and Chairman and CEO of the Institute for Advanced Health. “The mission of this council is not merely to talk about the problem, but to work in close collaboration to deliver meaningful and measurable results.”

Home Front has a long history of work with BPC. As part of this new and innovative effort, we produced a series of five videos of CEO Council members speaking out on the need to address the country’s most-pressing health issues.

The CEO Council includes the heads of some of the biggest companies in the country. Below is the video for Brian T. Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America. Go here to view the complete series.

Twitter Roundup: NatureSacred, RWJF & Social Media

Home Front’s Twitter account is a source for commentary on the latest news and innovations in the world of digital communications — and a place to see and experience the work we do on behalf of our diverse clients.

A quick look back on the past couple weeks…

Bay Weekly has a story on NatureSacred, which recently gave our six grants totaling $4.5 million to study the healing effects of nature. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

Unwavering: Public Health’s Dedication in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy, some of our latest work on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, walked away from the Telly Awards with a pair of statues. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

The Coworker Network lays out a compelling case for companies to encourage their employees to use social media — it improves efficiency. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

‘Conversation Prism’ Shows the Social Media Landscape

The first “Conversation Prism” showed how all of social media fell together and connected. The infographic illustrated the landscape of social media platforms and grouped them by function. That was 2008. Since social media was relatively young at that point, the visual map was relatively simple — just 22 categories and only a few brands.

Brian Solis, the creator of the Conversation Prism, has since released the fourth iteration of his particular take on the social media landscape. One quick look shows how much things have grown in the past five years.

The 2013 version, which shows the many and diverse social media choices for marketers, looks like a kaleidoscope. It groups the channels by what they bring to the end user. For example, they include Influence, Social Commerce and Video. Looking at the various version of the chart also shows which brands are new and which have already faded from sight.

“Things are changing so fast,” said Solis, according to Mashable. “We don’t even realize [the landscape] is shifting.”

The Mashable piece also includes a number of ways the Conversation Prism can be used, including:

Showing company executives the true extent of social media

Motivating people to think of new ways to utilize social media

Helping to plan social media strategies

And just appreciating the visualization — art for art’s sake

FreightRailWorks Takes Over Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro Station

Freight rail is the vital transportation network that helps the U.S. economy stay strong and competitive. Our most recent work on behalf of the Association for American Railroads’ FreightRailWorks features the 360-degree Designed to Move a Nation campaign, which helps keep the critical industry top-of-mind for Washington, D.C.-area policymakers and influencers.

And this month that means a complete ad takeover of the Navy Yard-Ballpark Station of the D.C. Metro.

Our creative team customized the majority of the more than 80 campaign pieces to provide multiple, engaging proof points about the freight rail industry. So for the entire month of July—a time span that includes more than two dozen Washington Nationals baseball games, which lead thousands of fans to pass through Navy Yard-Ballpark every game—that station will celebrate freight rail on its walls, on its floors and hanging from its ceilings.

Twitter Roundup: TKF, Tumblr & Instagram

Home Front’s Twitter account is a source for commentary on the latest news and innovations in the world of digital communications — and a place to see and experience the work we do on behalf of our diverse clients.

A quick look back on the past couple weeks…

Tom Stoner, co-founder and president of the TKF Foundation, sat down with WUSA9 to talk about the organization’s new grants and the healing power of nature. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

In an AdAge Q&A, outgoing Tumblr Media Evangelist Mark Coatney, gives his take on who’s making the best use of the digital media technology. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

That easy app that everyone you know uses to take pictures now wants to be that easy app that everyone you know uses to make videos. See the latest from Instagram. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

At National Harbor in Washington, D.C., the National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) was a sponsor of and participant in the Safe Kids Worldwide Childhood Injury Prevention Conference. The annual gathering is an opportunity for specialists to learn and share the latest information on preventing youth injuries. NCSR is all about utilizing red-light safety cameras to improve driver behavior, which helps keep everyone who shares the roadways—including kids—safer and healthier.

NatureSacred.org Advocates on the Importance of Greenspaces

Since 1996 the TKF Foundation has promoted and advocated for the creation of “Open Spaces Sacred Places”—places in nature that offer temporary sanctuary, encourage reflection, provide solace and engender peace and wellbeing. To date the Foundation’s support has helped create more more than 130 in the Baltimore-Annapolis-Washington region.

Home Front’s team of designer and developers has just put the finishing touches on NatureSacred.org, the new online home of the Foundation. The website details the importance and impact of these greenspaces, while Its Open Spaces blog works to spread information and stories about the healing power of nature and green development in urban locations.

The new site also features profiles of the six winners of the Foundation’s inaugural National Open Spaces Sacred Places Awards. The six projects will split $4.5 million to explore and explain the healing power of tranquil places in nature. Located across the United States, they will address the challenges of local populations by creating opportunities for recovery, wholeness and celebration, and contribute rigorous research that confirms the benefits of experiencing nature in urban settings.

You can follow the latest news from NatureSacred.org on Facebook and Twitter.

Mayors' Group's Bus Tour for Gun Violence Prevention Efforts

Last Friday marked the six-month anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that took 26 innocent lives in Newtown, Connecticut. Family members, elected officials, faith leaders and others in the community joined together in a day of remembrance and to urge Congress to support legislation that would require comprehensive background checks.

In addition, the organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns launched its “No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence” tour from Newtown. The 25-state tour will rally support for gun violence prevention efforts and while advocating the need for background checks.

While we’re proud of all our work, Home Front has been especially honored to be a part of this critical national effort. We’ve worked tirelessly to get the organization’s message out to media outlets — both large and small — across the country.

Twitter Roundup: Sandy, Analytics & Vine

Home Front’s Twitter account is a source for commentary on the latest news and innovations in the world of digital communications — and a place to see and experience the work we do on behalf of our diverse clients.

A quick look back on the past week…

Hurricane Sandy presented some of the greatest public health and emergency preparedness challenges from extreme weather in recent history — leaving dozens dead and millions without power. Our video for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation received a Web Health Award. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

Twitter has made its many analytics tools available to the public for free. Now anyone can find information on who follows them and how their most recent tweets were received. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

How do you like Vine videos? Seems they’re four times more likely to be shared than are other online videos. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

NCSR Shows Impact of Distracted Driving in Intersections

Imagine closing your eyes as you approach an intersection and continuing to drive, not knowing if the light was green or red. Although this scenario seems undeniably dangerous, drivers are basically taking the same foolish risk when they engage in distracted behavior behind the wheel.

With the new Stop Distraction on Red campaign developed for the National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) and FocusDriven, we are aiming to highlight the dangers of distracted driving. With our help, NCSR and FocusDriven released an analysis examining the impact of distracted driving on intersection safety, which used findings from a sample of 118 red-light safety cameras to estimate that more than 7.3 million red-light violations across the country involved distracted behavior last year.

The campaign also features key educational tools developed by the Home Front team. A new video combines clear captures of distracted drivers with informative red-light running and distracted driving statistics, visually linking the dangerous driving habits with their consequences. The campaign infographic illustrates key findings from the joint analysis in a visual and digestible manner. Our media team is using these tools and the analysis findings to get the word out about the campaign collaboration.

The win moved the ad on to the competition for the national ADDYs. The poster was up against entries from local competitions in Delaware, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

The poster was created for “National Stop on Red Week.” NCSR helps build awareness of the dangers of red light running and supports the emerging traffic safety technology industry. We’re extremely proud of our ongoing work to make this message heard at the national level and to create safer communities for everyone who shares the roadways.

For the latest on red-light safety cameras and road safety go to NCSR’s Safety Street blog.

Health Datapalooza Presents New Health Data Tools

This year’s Health Datapalooza featured new and emerging uses of data by companies, startups, academics, government agencies and individuals, and was borne out of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decision to release some of the health data it collects.

Home Front staff was on the ground capturing health data innovation from a public health perspective for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation public health forum, NewPublicHealth.org. This year’s conference included a community health track that looked at emerging tools to improve population health — not just individual health, but overall community health — and recommendations from key public health experts on what’s still needed. Data-sharing resources presented at the session included:

Kaiser Permanente’s community health needs assessment data platform, a web-based resource to support community health needs assessments—requirements under the Affordable Care Act, and as part of the application process for national public health department accreditation—as well as for community collaboration toward improving population health.

Afshin Khosrav, one of the founders of Trilogy Integrated Resources, presented the company’s Network of Care platform, which he described as “improving information and communication in the health and social service fields at the community level.” The company sells web-based tools to federal, state and local governments and nonprofit, social-service agencies to help connect people with the information and services they need.

Twitter Roundup: Facebook, Buzzfeed & Running

Home Front’s Twitter account is a source for commentary on the latest news and innovations in the world of digital communications — and a place to see and experience the work we do on behalf of our diverse clients.

A quick look back on the past week…

Worried the Facebook pages of famous people and organizations aren’t legit? Much like Twitter’s “verified” accounts, Facebook is adding verified pages and profiles to its array of services. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

As part of its plan to “aggressively expand” its video operations, BuzzFeed is teaming with CNN to create and disseminate youth-aimed videos. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

ASHA PSA Wins 2012 TV Access Award

While hearing issues can occur gradually as we get older, too many people don’t have their hearing checked regularly. An award-winning public service announcement (PSA) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) — produced by Home Front — helps make this message clear.

The “Speak Up About Hearing Loss” PSA campaign urges families to break through this silence and openly discuss untreated hearing loss among older family members. It informs families about how untreated hearing loss can keep their loved ones from fully enjoying life and how they can help their loved ones to get care.

The PSA recently won a 2012 TV Access “Top Ten Award,” which honors exceptional TV PSAs that rated in the top 10 percent as reported by Nielsen Media Research.

Twitter Roundup: Content, Tweeting & Tumblr

Home Front’s Twitter account is a source for commentary on the latest news and innovations in the world of digital communications — and a place to see and experience the work we do on behalf of our diverse clients.

A quick look back on the past week…

We all know that “content is king.” But is it also currency? A new post from Fast Company’s Co.CREATE makes the case that social content is the dominant currency of the modern world. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

“It depends” — that’s Twitter’s advice on how to craft the most effective piece. The company recently some tips on how to write engaging tweets. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

And while we’re on the subject of digital media tips, here’s Poynter’s analysis of how news organizations utilize Tumblr. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

IRH Website Advances Reproductive Health, Gender Equality

The Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) at Georgetown University has spent a quarter of a century advancing sexual and reproductive health around the globe. IRH works to expand family planning choices worldwide, advance gender equality and involve communities in reproductive health interventions which can advance the wellbeing of everyone.

With the new IRH.org designed and developed by Home Front, the organization now has a comprehensive online platform to provide resources, advance its mission and connect with new advocates.

Sometimes it can be all too easy to take certain things for granted — forgetting that many don’t have the same access to information and services that we do. A few minutes on IRH.org will clearly demonstrate the importance of the organization’s mission.

Twitter Roundup: Vine, Stroke & GeoGuessr

Home Front’s Twitter account is a source for commentary on the latest news and innovations in the world of digital communications — and a place to see and experience the work we do on behalf of our diverse clients.

A quick look back on the past week…

Vine is enabling us and others to post quick, six-second videos to social media. Even the U.S. Army is getting in on the action. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

May is American Stroke Month. The simple acronym of “F.A.S.T.” tells you the signs to look for — and a new app and an infographic can fill you in. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

Have a few (or more) minutes to explore the world at random? Check out geoguessr.com and see how you score. (Personal best: About 49 kilometers from a random lighthouse in Nova Scotia). JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

Our media team is working to get the word out about the critical new tool. A little while back our creative team also designed an infographic on how to identify and respond to a stroke. Take a few minutes to look it over and maybe one day you’ll be able to help a loved one — or even yourself — quickly respond to a stroke.

Twitter Roundup: Gov., Facebook & Top Sites

Home Front’s Twitter account is a source for commentary on the latest news and innovations in the world of digital communications — and a place to see and experience the work we do on behalf of our diverse clients.

A quick look back on the past week…

When it comes to communicating a message online, images can often do what words can’t. But what’s the best way to make sure your images are seen on Facebook’s news feed? This infographic from allfacebook.com has some tips. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosted a live webcast to help public health professionals gain a better grasp of how to use social media, while the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published a health literacy-friendly guide to Twitter chats. Both show a trend toward more guidance and support coming from government in Healthcare Communications and Social Media (or #hcsm) best practices. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

The web’s a big place — but which websites are the best? TIME has made its pick for the top 50. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

AAR Campaign Shows Importance of Freight Rail

Freight rail is a vital—yet often invisible—network that helps the U.S. economy stay strong and competitive.

With the new Designed to Move a Nation campaign developed for the Association of American Railroads, we’re aiming to make the vital industry more top-of-mind and appreciated for all it does to keep America moving forward. The 360-degrees campaign includes brand new creative for television, radio, print, digital and out-of-home. It’s also supported by an updated campaign website.

We’re incredibly proud of not just the results, but how we got here. All of our teams collaborated closely and worked tirelessly to bring this campaign to life.

Twitter Roundup: Orbitz, Facebook & Crazy Weather

Home Front’s Twitter account is a source for commentary on the latest news and innovations in the world of digital communications — and a place to see and experience the work we do on behalf of our diverse clients.

A quick look back on the past week…

The latest piece of work from our longstanding relationship with Orbitz was the 2013 Summer Travel Forecast infographic, which utilizes the company’s booking data to illustrate all sorts of information about U.S. travelers. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

Apparently Facebook could also double as a public health tool to predict, track and map which communities are most at risk for obesity. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

Busy work days and erratic weather? Pretty sure everyone in D.C. can related to how The Weather Channel was feeling. JOIN THE DISCUSSION.

Orbitz Infographic Shows Where, How U.S. Travelers are Vacationing

With more than three-quarters of Americans planning to take a summer vacation in 2013, long-time client partner Orbitz.com enlisted Home Front’s team of designers to visualize how people plan to travel. The result was the 2013 Summer Travel Forecast infographic. The detailed visual tool utilizes Orbitz.com booking data from the company’s annual survey to illustrate all sorts of information about American travelers — from where they go most to how much they’re paying to how they’re enjoying themselves on vacation.

Take a few moments to see how your fellow U.S. travelers are spending their summer vacations and maybe even get a few ideas for yourself.

TEDMED Discusses ‘Great’ National Health Challenges

Who’s going to bring us the next — and the next after that — big advances in health and medicine? That was the theme of the TEDMED 2013 conference in Washington, D.C., where 50 transformative “Hive” companies and nearly 100 entrepreneurs from a wide cross-sector of fields came together to be a part of solving the country’s huge health problems.

And Home Front was right there with them.

We spent weeks developing focused Storify pages for TEDMED’s 20 Great Challenges of Health and Medicine. These sites provide comprehensive windows into the online conversations surrounding critical health issues. During the event itself we managed TEDMED’s complete social media presence during the four-day event — from Twitter to Vine videos (TEDMED’s first foray into the medium) to Instagram to Facebook. The @TEDMED account sent out 780 tweets and the hashtag #TEDMED trended nationally on Wednesday

Our work also included posts on TEDMED’s blog. We’re especially proud of these two entries:

Census Pop Clock Paints a Moving Picture of the U.S.

The decennial population count is just part of the work of the U.S. Census Bureau — it’s also the keeper of statistical data that paint a picture of our country. Census and Home Front have a strong history of working together to present this information to the public in clear, engaging ways.

The latest piece of content from our long relationship is an updated version of the population clock. This tool offers a quick, interactive way to see how both the U.S. and global populations are constantly changing. It can be downloaded and shared across social media.

The clock displays continuously updated U.S. population projections, from birth rates to death rates and net migration totals. The enhanced interactive also shows the U.S. population by age/sex, as well as the most populous and densest areas in the country.

Check out the Census population clock to get a visual, interactive picture of the evolving makeup of the United States.

Home Front, RWJF Join the NPHW Conversation

“Public Health is ROI: Saves Lives, Saves Money” — that’s the theme of this year’s National Public Health Week, which runs through April 7. The goal is to emphasize how prevention and strong public health systems can help save lives and stop diseases before they start.

One of our long-time communications partners is the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) public health team. Our team of digital media experts has been working closely with RWJF to support their participation throughout the week, including participation in a Twitter chat and the curation of content for RWJF.org, Facebook and Twitter. We also utilized RWJF’s NewPublicHealth.org blog to help move the conversation and support the important national dialogue.

Here’s a quick look at some of the coverage of the observance on NewPublicHealth.org:

Kick Butts Day Moves Kids to Stay Tobacco Free

Each day approximately 1,000 kids become regular smokers. About one-third of them will die prematurely due to the addiction.

Our long-time partner the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) recently celebrated “Kick Butts Day,” an annual effort to help put an end to this dangerous reality. The day emphasizes the dangers of tobacco and helps kids encourage their peers, families and community members to stay tobacco-free.

Thanks to the efforts of CTKF and other groups, we’ve come a long way in the fight against tobacco. But there’s still a long way to go and plenty of obstacles in the way. That’s in no small part because tobacco companies are constantly devising new ways to reach youth audiences. Why does the tobacco industry spend so much time and money marketing to kids? Because it works.

We developed — in collaboration with CTFK — an integrated media campaign that included live television and radio interviews, targeted digital media engagement and the development of two powerful infographics. Winning the Fight focuses on the progress — and the road ahead — in the fight against tobacco. Tobacco Villains centered on the products — including new approaches such as tobacco orbs, sticks and strips — that are being developed and marketed by tobacco companies.

The public health community has made great strides in decreasing national smoking rates, particularly among children. But until the problem is completely eradicated, individuals and communities across the country will need to work hard to keep kids from starting and to help the addicted quit.

Public Health Gets on the Pinterest Bandwagon

Public health institutions across the country are joining the 10.5 million users on the virtual pinboard website, Pinterest, to share important health information and images. Topics such as women’s health, healthy living, emergency preparedness and public health history are a few of the boards on the brand new CDCgov page, launched this month. Harvard School of Public Health focuses more on healthy eating, recommended readings, and inspirational quotes. Users are able to categorize topics and pictures anyway they want, allowing every institute’s page to be unique.

Users of the online scrapbook view content, “re-pin” photos to their pages, add comments to images and “like” user’s content. Pages encourage users to leave comments on the images that they like most or would like to see more of. Pinterest is the third fastest growing social network with 80 percent of users being women and 50 percent mothers, according to TechCrunch. The site is another way for public health professionals to stay at the center of the public health conversation and interact with their key audience on the most recent public health issues. The dissemination of information continues to grow as more people participate in the sorting, collecting and sharing of public health information.

American Advertising Federation Awards Gold ADDY to Home Front

Home Front and the National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) have won a 2013 Gold ADDY Award in the public service category for a poster explaining — in clear, direct terms and with stark imagery — the dangers of running red lights.

The poster is just one of the many high-impact pieces of content we’ve conceived and created in collaboration with NCSR. The national industry trade association advocates for the benefits of automated traffic safety technology and works to demonstrate how red light and speed safety cameras improve driver behavior and make communities safer places to live.

We are proud of our continued, award-winning efforts to help make communities safer across the country.

Home Front’s News-Oriented Approach Takes Center Stage

Several recent conferences provided the Home Front team with the opportunity to demonstrate how a journalistic approach to producing and distributing digital content for maximum impact can help clients tell their stories and drive important conversations.

On a different topic, many of the top minds in nuclear science and technology gathered at the winter American Nuclear Society Conference to discuss the development of nuclear concepts. Though this conference was on an entirely different topic, the approach to developing timely content in a way that will reach relevant audiences is the same. Several of our team members presented work around Forum on Energy, a news and information site focused on global viewpoints about nuclear energy, on behalf of the U.S.-Japan Roundtable on Nuclear Energy.

Our team shares our expertise at industry gatherings in order to advance the discussion about innovative ways to reach and engage audiences. We are firm believers in the power of great content to inform audiences and spur them to action.

RWJF Infographics Link Public Health, Individual Health

NewPublicHealth is a dynamic digital forum that shares daily news about public health. In collaboration with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we designed and manage a digital engagement strategy that tells a series of visual stories to advance the online discussion about public health and the power of prevention.

The first infographic in the National Prevention Strategy series, The Healthier Living Infographic, shows the connection between education and healthy living — longer lives, lower disease risk and higher incomes.

The Better Transportation Infographic demonstrates how better transportation options — walkable, bikeable and transit-oriented communities —lead to improvements in individual and community health.

The Stable Jobs Infographic tells the story on the role of employment in the health of our communities. Interviews with Cabinet Secretaries and their National Prevention Council designees further explored the impact of jobs and transportation on health.

The infographics have been the most popular pieces of content ever published on NewPublicHealth.org and each new infographic has eclipsed its predecessor.

This series proves that infographics and other digital assets can spur both online and offline movement.

AAR’s FreightRailWorks.org Gives Voice to the Industry, Racks Up Awards

Operating over a 140,000 mile network including major railroads in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, The Association of American Railroads is making sure America’s freight railroads are the safest, most efficient, cost-effective and environmentally sound freight transportation system in the world.

U.S. freight rail boosts America’s economic health, moving 43% of intercity freight and one third of all exports—from vegetables to steel, from wheat to coal. FreightRailWorks.org tells the powerful stories of those who maintain our modern freight rail network.

We made FreightRailWorks.org as remarkable as the nation it serves.

We used a digital advertising strategy with compelling ads that encourage user interaction and engagement. Videos embedded on the site provide an outlet for users to hear the stories and see the people behind the industry.

We are proud of our unique collaboration with AAR and the breadth of stories captured on FreightRailWorks.org. The future of America rides on rail.

AAR Holiday Video Shows the Lighter Side of Freight Rail

Not every video needs to be a major production. Sometimes — with the right client and the right project — something simple is just right for the job.

The Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) members operate over a 140,000-mile network that blankets North America. For AAR, we put together a fun little holiday video asking how Santa Claus really gets everything delivered during the holidays.

The answer? Freight rail, of course.

And fitting the season, the video shows model freight trains chugging along through model towns and holiday exhibits. The holiday has passed, but you can still take a minute to watch the video and get back into the spirit.

NTI Website Shows the Need for Reducing Nuclear Weapon Stockpiles

For 13 days in October of 1962, the world was on the brink of nuclear war as the United States stared down the reality of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. Now, half a century later, the United States, Russia and seven other countries command nuclear arsenals that total approximately 20,000 missiles.

The nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative is working to reduce the global threat from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. For NTI, Home Front created a website explaining the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis and what steps can be taken now to help ensure the world never faces such a threat again.

The site features a dynamic scrolling design that draws visitors deeper into an underground missile silo as they’re guided through the history of the issue and NTI’s compelling case. We also crafted a video teasing the campaign.

Both bring together a striking visual theme and a strong narrative to explain the organization’s belief that governments should take nuclear weapons off of the “hair-trigger” alert status that could lead to otherwise avoidable war.

New blog launch: Safety Street

Since February 2011, the National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) has helped save lives and protected communities by demonstrating how road safety cameras can improve driver behavior through the NCSRsafety.org website, PSAs, a national safety report, local ad campaigns…and now a blog.

As the online voice of NCSR, Safety Street will be a go-to source of news and information that helps solidify NCSR as a leader in red-light safety camera issues. It will enable NCSR to interact directly with a fully networked and active professional community of officials, advocates, supporters, media, parents, drivers, pedestrians and more.

Safety Street will include both curated and original online content, as well as convene voices that speak to and about NCSR’s goals and initiatives. You can expect everything from stories on national and local safety camera efforts to first-person commentaries and perspectives on the importance of automated safety enforcement.

Home Front was proud when NCSR’s stakeholders came to us looking to launch a national organization focused on road safety and the benefits of red-light safety cameras. We believe Safety Street represents an important next step in NCSR’s continuing efforts to raise public awareness and stop needless injury and death due to reckless driving decisions.

Home Front collaborated closely with RWJF’s Public Health team on the blog’s creation and continues to manage the editorial direction on a daily basis. Given the dwindling ranks of journalists covering the wide range of issues affecting individual and community health that span beyond the doctor’s office, RWJF needed a new way to reach out into the public health community and help drive the national discussion. The result — NewPublicHealth.org — combines the best knowledge about public health with the editorial approach favored by news organizations.

The twice-yearly Web Health Awards are an effort of The Health Information Resource Center (HIRC), a national information clearinghouse for professionals who work in consumer health fields. A panel of 25 subject matter experts selected the best of almost 400 health-related entries in 43 categories, including blog, website, social media and mobile application.

We are extremely proud of NewPublicHealth.org and all our work with RWJF. We’re also honored to be recognized alongside the top names and voices in the national public health community.